Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake
by WildwindVampire
Summary: After losing her camera with evidence of real monsters on it, Daphne is more determined than ever to catch footage of real monsters for her now famous TV show, "Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake," with her cameraman Fred. Mainly Daphne-centered and from her POV, but the rest of the gang make appearances from time to time. Set after the events of "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island."
1. Forest of Doom

**Author's note:**

So just a bit of background on this before you start reading.

This isn't my first attempt at writing a fanfic, though most of the other ones admittedly weren't that greatly written. A few other one-shots I did were posted on the ScoobyAddicts forum which is a forum that I am an admin for (I believe they still may be there), though I feel this fanfic is my first really good one. This first chapter was originally finished and published on June 20, 2014. However, I didn't join until 2016 so thus the first three chapters were posted as a group on July 12, 2016.

Secondly, this fanfic is mainly Daphne-centric. That being said, the gang does make appearances throughout, but not necessarily in every chapter or all together as a group. As this is a follow-up to _Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island_ , the gang is still split up and not all together. The overarching plot of this does deal with Daphne's relationship and how, or rather if, she truly 'fits' with the gang and if she does, what unique thing does she bring to the group that cannot be replaced by someone else?

But I'll stop talking now and just let you all read! Enjoy!

* * *

Daphne woke up to the annoying buzzing sound of her alarm clock. She groggily got out of bed and turned off her alarm. She groaned loudly, as she knew that she only had an hour and a half until she had to be at work. She still had to eat breakfast, shower, get dressed for the day, and her hair was a mess! She quickly shoveled down a bowl of cereal and milk, and got ready for a hot shower. She was still so tired (as she was every morning, she was not the 'early bird' type) that she nearly dozed off in the shower.

"Wake up Daphne, wake up!" she kept saying to herself, because it seemed like the only thing she could do to keep from falling asleep. Finally, she had gotten herself all clean, and just in time, too, she could feel her eyelids began to shut. She got out of the shower, dried herself off rapidly with her favorite, soft white towel that had her initials 'DB' on it, and looked at the clock.

"8:00?" Already?" Daphne lamented. She finally began to mentally wake up, as she always did around this time. Now, it was time for the seemingly million questions Daphne asked herself every day.

"Should I curl my hair? Should I leave it straight like I always do? Should I put it up? Or should I leave it down?" After 5 minutes of deciding and thinking, she decided on leaving it straight, and putting it up for the day. But she wasn't done with the questions yet. There was still the matter of how much eyeliner to put on, what kind of hairspray to use, and many more questions that had yet to be answered.

 _8:30_ , Daphne thought to herself. She quickly put on some eyeliner and make up, and tried to finish up in the bathroom. But, as always, it was 8:40 before she finished with the million 'fashion' questions she asked herself, and she had to be at work at 9 sharp, and she had a ten minute drive yet.

 _Ten minutes_ , Daphne sighed. She still needed to figure out she was going to wear yet for the day, which took her way too long to decide upon. After questioning if every single pair of pants was 'in fashion' and whether it made her look 'pretty enough,' She finally slipped on a pair of pants with two minutes to spare.

She knew there was only two minutes before she had to leave, but yet, she asked herself, "Do I want to look professional? Or should I go for the more 'cutsie' look?" Ten minutes passed, and after trying on multiple shirts and dresses, she decided on 'the cutsie look' as she called it. She began taking the dress out of her closet, but then she realized the dress was too long for the pants, and she would have to wear tights! She threw the pants onto the bed, and slipped on the tights. Her watch began to beep.

"9:00! My boss is going to kill me!" she gasped. She quickly put on a bra and slipped into her dress, then grabbed her keys and ran out the door.

* * *

While driving to work, she imagined the scenarios when she came in late, and what she was going to say. "I was late because I was putting on a dress?" That seemed like a recipe for disaster. Maybe she could lie? Daphne didn't really like this idea, she wasn't much for lying, and she nearly always told the truth.

 _Another decision to make this morning_ , she thought.

While thinking and driving, she looked at some of the sights and signs, as she always did on her way to work each morning. 'Now entering Crystal Cove', one said to the right of her. Daphne had always been unsure why they created two cities (Crystal Cove and Coolsville, the second one being the one Daphne lived in), and made them sound completely different, when she felt they were exactly the same city. Everyone in Coolsville and Crystal Cove considered the two cities as exactly the same. But the two cities explanation for the division of the cities was that Crystal Cove was a suburb of Coolsville, but they were not, and would never be the same two cities.

* * *

Daphne arrived at where she worked, the TV station, at 9:12.

"A little late, aren't we Miss Blake?" said the security guard at the gate.

"I'm sorry, my...um...car got in a terrible accident."

"Oh my gosh! Was anyone hurt?"

"No, it was just a fender-bender."

"Let me look at it. My hobby is to fix cars!"

Now Daphne was in trouble. She knew that when he looked at the back of the car, she'd be marked as a liar forever.

"Hmmmm... I don't see any damage here." the security guard looked suspiciously at Daphne.

"Umm...it actually happened last night. I was late because...I was picking it up from the mechanic."

"Oh, that's good. I thought for a second you were lying to get out of work. But you would never lie, would you Miss Blake?"

"Me? Of course not!" Daphne gave a fake-ish type smile and laughed along with the security guard.

"Go right ahead Miss Blake, I won't keep you any longer."

Daphne parked her car quickly, and ran in the building, hoping that no one else would question her about being late to work. But she knew everyone would, after all, she had rehearsal for her now famous show, _Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake_ , and if she wasn't there, there was no show.

* * *

Now 30 minutes late after her long talk with the security guard, she arrived at the rehearsal room.

"Where have you been?" asked Daphne's cameraman, Fred Jones.

Daphne always had a strange relationship with Fred. All throughout high school, people had thought they liked each other, much to Daphne's dismay. After the sort of 'break-up' of Mystery Inc, when they were all tired of catching fake monsters and faux ghouls, Fred and Daphne had ran off from the rest of the gang to do 'Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake'. Ever since that, Fred was always treating her like she was helpless, something Daphne took as 'flirting' as if he liked her. She absolutely hated Fred acting like a lovesick idiot towards her, and vocally expressed this to him.

"For your information, my car broke down." said Daphne angrily.

"You know I'm good with cars, I could have helped Daphne. You didn't need to get your delicate hands dirty." Fred replied back.

Daphne had to take a deep breath and count to ten before she replied to this sexist comment. "I can handle myself!" said Daphne firmly, just as she had said when he had asked "Are you OK?" up on Moonscar Island when one of the zombies had grabbed her.

Fred gave her a confused look.

Daphne was already embarrassed. "Well, let's just get started filming."

"Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake: Season 2: Haunted America: Episode 2..." Fred rambled.

"Just get on with it!" Daphne barked.

"OK, OK, don't be so grouchy!"

"Filming in 3...2...1..."

"Welcome to Season 2 of my new show, Haunted America. Today, I'm going to look into the most haunted forest area in America, Pine Forest, where there is supposedly a ghost that grabs anyone who goes into the forest. 16 people have been reported missing in this forest in the last year, and there have been no signs of a struggle at the scenes of the disappearance."

Daphne signaled to Fred to turn off the camera.

"We'll film Scene 2 tomorrow." Daphne explained to Fred.

* * *

Luckily for Daphne, her boss wasn't around today, and she had the rest of the day off to pack for her next trip, to Pine Forest. Her previous trip, to Moonscar Island with the rest of the gang had been a complete bust. She had found real, terrifying zombies and cat creatures, but she had lost all the evidence in quicksand. Not only that, but her boss had scheduled Season 2 Episode 1 to air on TV on September 29, which was only a few days after she got back from Moonscar Island. The problem was, she couldn't find any footage in time for September 29, so she had to quick throw together a clip show, which made her ratings drop significantly for that week.

It was Sunday, September 30 now, and her show aired every Saturday morning. Luckily, the next Saturday, October 5 was scheduled as a repeat of a Season 1 episode, so she had until October 12 to get new material for Episode 2. And this time, she had to get new material for her show, she couldn't just make all of Season 2 'clip shows' or her boss might cancel the show due to low ratings.

Daphne decided to go visit Velma at her bookshop, Dinkley's Mystery Books. It seemed like she was happy where she was working, but it always appeared like she was longing for something else.

"Daphne! What a nice surprise!" Velma smiled.

It seemed like Velma had lit up when Daphne came in the bookstore.

"Daphne!" A familiar voice said.

"Shaggy? Scooby? What are you doing here?" Daphne said, as Shaggy and Scooby came out from behind a bookshelf.

"Like, we got fired from another job!" Shaggy sheepishly said.

"Let me guess, you ate all the food again." Daphne guessed.

"Yeah. It seems the only job we can keep is feeding our stomachs 24/7."

"Reah. Rehehehe" Scooby laughed.

"Can I have The Haunted Ghost Town Mysteries #22: The Ghost in the Ghost Town?" asked a customer, who just entered Velma's shop."

"Just a second." Velma said.

5 more people got in line, waiting for Velma to help them.

"Well, I can see you're busy, and I've got to pack for another ghost hunting trip for my show." Daphne explained.

"OK, thanks for stopping in!" Velma smiled.

As Daphne closed the door, she could hear Velma sighing, as if her heart sunk when Daphne left.

* * *

An annoying beeping noise could be heard. It was time for Daphne to wake up again. Daphne once again shoveled down a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, and got in the shower. She would have to be ready to pick up Fred at 10 o'clock. It was the same routine as any other morning, but for a reason that she could not explain in her head, she felt like she needed to look especially pretty today, like a fashion model, even though she was only going to get all dirty in the woods. She put on extra eyeliner, perfume, deodorant, and so much makeup that her face was almost glowing red. She also decided to make her hair curly today, instead of straight, like she always did. She just couldn't put her finger on why she needed to look so pretty today. It was because it was the first 'real' episode of her new season, that was why. But yet, she still wasn't so sure.

Finally, she was ready to go, and got in her car, turned on WZOP, which was her favorite radio station.

* * *

Fred hopped in Daphne's car, and seemed to be acting differently around her. It seemed like he wanted to say something to her, but couldn't think of the words to say it.

Finally, he said it, "So...you look different."

"Oh what, you mean the hair? It was nothing."

Daphne felt disgusted with herself suddenly. _Did I just play hard to get?_ she asked herself.

She immediately straightened up. The car was silent for most of the way to Pine Forest. The radio helped a little bit to fill the void spots where words should have been.

"We're finally here." sighed Daphne.

"Turn on the camera Fred" Daphne instructed.

Fred did as he was told.

"This is the haunted Pine Forest, where supposedly a phantom has been seen and heard floating around. We're now at the spot where supposedly people disappeared."

"Oooooooooooh!"

"I think we just heard our first signs of the haunting!" Daphne said excitedly, although she still was a little shook up from the strange car ride.

Suddenly, a figure appeared. He had a huge ax, and was wearing red lumberjack's clothes.

"Are you getting this Fred?" Daphne said nervously.

"Y-yeah" Fred shivered.

The lumberjack ghost tripped over a rock.

"Whoopsies!" the lumberjack said, in a stupid voice.

The lumberjack was lying in the dirt, his pant leg slightly up from falling. Fred touched his leg.

"I don't think this is a ghost Daph." Fred said somberly.

Daphne took the mask off.

"This isn't a ghost." She could smell alcohol on his breath. "Fred, this is a drunk man!" Daphne said, in shock.

He started to wake up. "I'm sorry Daphne, I just wanted to be on your show so bad." he drunkenly moaned, "So when you said you were coming here last season I kidnapped 16 people. They're all alive and well at my house over there."

He pointed to a cabin over in the woods. Daphne and Fred hiked over there, and sure enough, it was the 16 people who had supposedly disappeared. Daphne groaned, and hit delete on her camera, erasing all the footage of the 'ghost' lumberjack.

* * *

Daphne went back to the TV studio, and ran into her boss, Jim Sands, head of the studio.

"So Daphne, did you get the footage?" Mr. Sands demanded.

"No, the ghost was a drunken idiot." Daphne said angrily.

"I don't care. It's October 1st today, you have 11 days to get that footage, or I'm cancelling Coast to Coast."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Not much to say after this first chapter other than I hope you enjoyed it. This first chapter was just intended as starting point and set-up for the series, so things will quickly start to speed up in the upcoming chapters.

Also, though there weren't any in this chapter, every chapter will likely have some references to other Scooby-Doo series and movies as well whatever others I decide to use.

That's pretty much all I have to say for this chapter, so onward to chapter 2!


	2. House on Terror Hill

**Author's note:**

When I first wrote these, I tried to follow the general rule of having these chapters each be one week (the six days leading up to Daphne's show on Saturday morning) but as you'll see in a moment I will occasionally break that rule if it fits better with the plot that I don't follow the rule. However, as the chapters went on, I decided it worked better without having to be constrained to this rule. I believe the fourth chapter is the last one where I followed this 'rule.'

As a side note, this chapter was written beginning in August 2014 and was finished on February 28, 2015 (due to a lot of real-life busyness which prevented me from writing).

Velma and Fred appear in this chapter, however, Shaggy and Scooby are not in this particular one. Hope you enjoy chapter 2!

* * *

293489 results.

She skimmed through most of them, but half of them led her to webpages that sounded like they were written by an 8-year-old boy. She sighed loudly, thinking of the thought that she only had a week to find a haunted attraction, visit it, prove there were ghosts, edit the footage, and make it interesting to her viewers. She had to etch the thought out of her mind, because just thinking about it made her exhausted.

Her show normally aired on Saturday mornings, and today was Saturday, October 5, but luckily, a repeat of the Season 1 finale was scheduled for today. Her first episode of the season had been a total bust; it was just a clip show of scenes from her first season. If Daphne's boss didn't have the footage for Season 2, Episode 2 in his hands by Friday night, he said he would schedule in another show in her timeslot, making her show officially cancelled.

The days went by fast, as usual, and Daphne moped around the house all weekend, hoping something would come to her. But it didn't.

Daphne could hear a loud ringing sound again. It was Monday; the day Daphne hated the most. Especially this Monday, because this Monday was the day she had to tell her boss "No, I didn't find any material for the show this weekend."

Daphne drove to work, and everything just seemed bland and the same. No excitement, no ideas, no difference from any other day. She reached the gate at the TV station, and looked to the side of the gate.

Now that's different, Daphne thought as she saw a new security worker operating the gate.

Daphne tried to be her normal chipper self, but she couldn't muster up the energy to be friendly.

She sort of moaned "Hello" to the new security guard.

"I heard your show might get canceled." The security guard whispered.

"How did you know that?" Daphne asked, confused about how he would have gotten that information.

"I know a lot of things. Now, I think I may have a haunted attraction for this week's show, Daphne."

"Do I know you?"

"No, but I've done my research on you."

 _Who the heck is this creep?_ Daphne mentally questioned.

"Go to Terror Hill in Parlonville, you'll see the house."

"Which house?" Daphne asked.

"You'll know, it's the only one on the block. I hope this helps you Daphne A. Blake."

It was bad enough he knew her first name, but how the heck did he know her middle initial and last name?

"Just let me through!" Daphne asserted, although she didn't feel assertive at all.

"OK, I hope I helped you Ms. Blake."

As he opened the gate, Daphne nearly ripped off part of the gate because she was so frightened of how this random dude knew her middle initial and last name. Sure, he could have been a viewer of her show, and knew her last name by watching, but she never revealed her middle name on the show, or anywhere for that matter.

 _This guy must have really done his research on her_ , Daphne thought.

* * *

Daphne had planned just a night of relaxing in the comfort of her home. Maybe watching a few movies, eating some popcorn and some well deserved R & R. It was only 5 o'clock at the time, so she figured she could eat a nice relaxing dinner at home, without anyone to bother her. Suddenly, her phone began to ring obnoxiously just as she was getting a glass of water. Daphne let out a big sigh, went to pick it up. "Any good footage yet Daph?" Fred asked hopefully within a second of Daphne picking up. "No Fred, no footage yet!" Daphne yelled, as she angrily hung up the phone and tossed it on the ground. Daphne sat down on her couch in a huff, mad that Fred was expecting that she already had footage. She was just about to look for a movie to watch when someone began knocking on her door. What now? She silently asked herself.

She opened the door to find Velma smiling.

Velma asked "Hi Daph, any good footage of monsters yet?"

"No, but I think if anyone else asks me I can just start filming myself, because I'll turn into a monster pretty soon."

"Sorry Daph, I didn't know!" Velma defended.

"It's not your fault Velms, I'm just having a tough night."

"Why's your phone on the floor?" Velma asked.

"That's its new home, it lives there now." Daphne said sarcastically. She picked it up and set it on the table.

Daphne realized how uninviting she had been to Velma, "Sorry, come on in."

"You want to talk?" Velma kindly asked.

"Sure, well, let's start from the top."

Daphne began telling Velma all about the "drunken" ghost that Fred and her had found, and then she told Velma about her boss, and that she had less than a week to get the footage for her boss or she could risk losing her job.

"That sounds awful!" Velma sympathized.

"And then there was this weird dude…" Daphne started telling Velma about the odd new security guard and the place he had told her to go.

"Daphne, that's perfect! You should go there!"

"Excuse me?" Daphne asked confusedly, "You want me to go to a random guy's house? For all I know he could be a pervert trying to have sex with me!"

"No, Terror Hill is where Skull Mansion is, that place is rumored to be haunted! Look!"

Daphne hadn't noticed that Velma had brought a computer with her, but as quickly as she looked over Velma's computer screen showed a website highlighting Terror Hill.

"OK, but I'm not going alone." Daphne said uneasily.

"Of course not, I'll go too! It'll be just you and me, a girls' trip!"

Daphne admired Velma's chipperness, but she really wasn't in the mood for it. She just wanted to feel sorry for herself in peace.

"Yeah! And while we're there we can gossip about boys, tell secrets, and slap each other silly with pillows!" Daphne said sarcastically.

"I said a girls' trip, not a teenage slumber party. If you don't want to go, no one's forcing you." Velma reassured.

"OK, I guess it could be fun." Daphne lightened up a little bit. "But I get the first shot at you with the pillow."

Velma smiled, and Daphne began packing.

* * *

Daphne had nearly slept the whole trip, being grumpy really knocked her out. She usually wasn't in such a bad mood as she had been in for the past two weeks, and the state of not being in a fun, bubbly mood tired her out.

Daphne gave out a small yawn, and looked around to try to wake herself up.

Daphne stretched her arms and yawned again.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Almost there, only a mile away." Velma told her.

"Oh good!" Daphne began to cheer up and pulled her camera out. "Better get this ready for action in a moment. Well, I guess this is a good of time as any to do my intro."

She took a drink a water and pressed the record button.

"We're here at…"

She stopped and started coughing a bit.

She laughed a little bit. Still coughing, she hoarsely said, "Note to self: never talk with water in your mouth."

"Take 2!" She pressed the button again.

"We're right here at Herror Till and…"

She began laughing at her mistake again.

"Take 3!"

"We're now at…"

This time, nothing even happened and Daphne just burst out giggling. She started taking deep breaths. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Take…"

Daphne didn't even hit the record button this time and she started laughing uncontrollably again.

"On a sugar high Daph?" Velma questioned.

"Yeah, I think the Blizzard we picked up at Dairy Queen got me a little loopy." She said, as she took some deep breaths.

"I just have to calm down a little bit."

After a few seconds she decided to try again.

"My friend Velma's along for the ride this time as we go to Terror…."

The camera slipped out of her hands, only making Daphne burst out laughing again.

"Daphne, are you OK?" Velma asked her.

"Yeah, I'm OK, I'm OK!" Daphne said, as she was nearly on the floor with laughter.

"Note to self: never give Daphne sugar!" Velma rolled her eyes at Daphne's goofy antics.

They finally arrived at Terror Hill Road.

"Where's the house?" Velma asked. "It's not on this road at all."

"Wait, did you try going up the hill?" Daphne chimed in.

"No...I didn't even notice that…" Velma began driving up the hill.

"Man, this place is spooky at night!" Daphne commented.

"There's the house right up there…"

Both of the girls shivered. The garage on the house was perfectly shaped like a skull.

They parked in the driveway, and turned off the car.

"Well, I guess we should get out." Daphne said.

"Yep, we should." Velma nervously said.

Both of them knew they were stalling for time, but the house looked so spooky that neither of them truly wanted to go in.

They slowly opened their car doors and got out. They began walking up to the door in the chilling night winds.

"V-v-v-velma…..The door's open."

The house was completely dark, it appeared no one was there.

Velma and Daphne quick ran in, and shut the door.

* * *

Both girls were terrified of what was to come in the night.

Daphne walked around the house. It was huge, in fact it had over 60 rooms.

"Velma, dinner's made!" Daphne called from the dining room.

"You made it that fast?" Velma asked befuddledly.

"No, but someone else did." Daphne shivered."Well, there's no time better than now to film."

"I'm Daphne Blake, and we are here at Terror Hill, a supposedly haunted house. It appears we were expected, as dinner has already been made for us." She tasted it. "And it's warm too….which means someone was in this house less than 15 minutes ago….and maybe still is." Daphne turned off her camera.

"Alphabet soup? What kind of dinner is this?" Velma asked. She swirled at the soup a bit with her spoon. "Let's see if it spells anything."

The soup began coming to a stop. A "b" and an "e" began surfacing at the top of the soup. 4 more letters quickly came up.

The letters stopped, and spelled "B-E-W-A-R-E."

Velma shivered a bit. "Is the soup haunted?"

"Probably just a coincidence." Daphne shook off the fear that surrounded her mind.

Daphne stirred at her's a little bit too. The soup came to a stop.

"Nope, it's not." Daphne said.

"What makes you say that?" Velma asked.

"Because mine says the same thing…." Daphne shuttered.

The girls were so scared that they didn't notice that the person had left bread for them too.

Velma picked at her soup a little more, but Daphne didn't eat.

"Aren't you hungry?" Velma asked.

"Starving. But there's something not right about that soup."

Suddenly, the ceiling opened up and a knife fell down.

"Look out!" Daphne yelled, and Velma jumped out of the way.

"Wow! That was close. I wonder if it was an accident." Velma was still a bit shell-shocked from her near-death experience.

"Nope." Daphne said.

"What makes you so sure?" Velma shuttered, afraid to get an answer.

Daphne pointed under Velma's chair. There was a huge red X right where Velma was sitting.

As Velma gasped for air, Daphne sat down again and turned on her camera.

All of a sudden, Daphne's soup began swirling again.

"Daphne, don't spin your soup. Who knows what it might say this time?"

"But, I didn't touch it."

The soup came to a stop, and said "watch your back."

"I'm getting out of here!" Velma yelled.

She ran to the front door, but it was locked tight.

"We're trapped!" she gasped.

"That's OK," Daphne said, "I need some more footage anyways. Haunted soup is all well and good, but I need an actual ghost on camera."

"What are we going to do tonight?" Velma panicked.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, we're not going anywhere near that soup again." Daphne said, "Let's play some cards."

"Cards? How can you play cards at a time like this?" Velma demanded.

"Who's the pessimistic one now?" Daphne smiled, "Anyways, cards is a good way to stay awake, and I don't know about you, but there's no way I'm going to bed now."

"Yeah, I guess." Velma gave in.

Daphne began shuffling the cards, and dealt them out to Velma.

"D-d-daphne?" Velma shivered.

"Yeah?"

"Did you bring that knife in here?"

"No. Why?"

"Because it's right on the table."

Daphne screamed. Suddenly, they began to hear a clanging sound.

"What's that?" Velma became alert.

A suit of armor began walking towards them, and Daphne immediately hit record. The armor picked up the knife, and began chasing Daphne and Velma with it.

"Jeepers!" Daphne yelled, and began running with her camera pointed behind her to get footage of the knight.

They ran towards a door, and Daphne attempted to open it.

"It's locked!" she said.

The knight was running towards them and the door.

"1, 2, 3, JUMP!"

They quickly jumped to the side, as the knight crashed into the door.

"Let's see if it's a human….." Velma shivered, as she lifted up the mask.

"It's probably that creepy security guard." Daphne guessed.

"It's...no one." Velma said, confused.

The knight was suddenly inanimate, and the house was completely silent.

Daphne and Velma waited up for another two hours, but all was silent and no more paranormal activity occurred.

Daphne could barely lift her eyelids anymore, and Velma was nearly asleep.

"Well, I guess we better go to bed." Daphne yawned.

* * *

Daphne quickly undressed for the night while Velma brushed her teeth.

While Velma brushed her teeth, Daphne swore she heard a ghostly laugh coming from another room. She shivered, as Velma came back in and asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing." Daphne didn't want to say anything more to worry Velma.

Daphne slept through most of the night, while Velma tossed and turned all night, out of fear that she wouldn't survive the night.

Daphne squinted her eyes to see a ghoulish figure in the corner of her eye. She jumped up and began running.

"Velma!" she yelled to wake her up.

Daphne didn't look back, but could hear Velma following her so she felt a little relief.

Daphne looked behind her to see that no one was following her.

Luckily, Daphne grabbed her camera and was filming the chase.

"Now...WHAT WAS THAT?" Daphne screamed.

"That must of been..." Velma started to talk, but then froze as a ghostly giggling interrupted her.

The figure appeared at the door. Daphne reached out to touch it, to see if it was real. Her hand went right through it, but yet it was able to grab her sleeve. Daphne was so scared, she ripped her shirt sleeve as she ran down the stairs.

Daphne and Velma both looked for a quick place to hide, but found nothing as the grotesque phantom approached.

Suddenly, the grandfather clock struck 6, and the sun began creeping in the shutters. The phantom's shadowy essence began to disappear, but as it disappeared, it pointed angrily at both girls. The phantom lunged at Velma and Daphne, and just as it was about to reach them, it disappeared into the morning sun rays.

The girls were so scared, they didn't think twice about leaving now that the ghost was gone and the door was unlocked.

* * *

Daphne strutted into work that morning, proud that her troubles of finding footage were finally over. She happily gave the footage to her boss, and submitted it to the editing department.

Her boss gave the footage a quick run through. "1 minute too short." He frowned, as if to show disapproval. Daphne quick ran through her camera, and found the footage of her getting loopy still on the camera. "Add a bloopers scene at the end." Daphne decided out loud.

As she returned home, she gave the footage a quick run through of the footage she had. She shivered again at the soup scene, thinking about just how fast the events of the night went. She noticed something different though, during the card scene, there was that phantom, who was standing right behind her. Apparently the scene only showed up on camera somehow. Daphne felt uneasy knowing that a ghost was behind her and she didn't even know it.

Meanwhile, at the window, the apparition from Terror Hill was watching Daphne watch the footage, and faded away into the night.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

So I mentioned at the beginning of last chapter that there would be some references that I would explain at the end of each chapter.

\- The title is of this chapter and "The House on Terror Hill" title I gave to this chapter is a reference to "The House on Haunted Hill," a classic horror movie from 1959.

\- The alphabet soup part is a reference to another Hanna-Barbera show, "The Flintstones." This particular episode entitled "A Haunted House Is Not A Home" is a reference to "The House on Haunted Hill" movie, included Fred and Barney in haunted house, where they had to spend the night to receive Fred's Uncle Giggles' inheritance. In the episode, Fred stirs his alphabet soup, and it also spells "BEWARE" just as it did in this chapter. If you haven't seen particular episode, I highly recommend watching it as it is one of my favorite episodes of the Flintstones series, and it has quite a few similarities to the mystery aspect in Scooby.

Anyways, on to chapter 3!


	3. A Night at Dracula's Castle

**Author's note:**

This chapter was written the week of Halloween 2015 and finished November 7, 2015, and I think it turned out as the best chapter so far.

This whole chapter is a reference in itself to "The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone," the 1979 TV special that aired the night before Halloween that year. There are some more references, but I don't want to ruin anything as some of them are spoilers, so I'll let you see for yourself and I'll explain more at the end. Enjoy!

* * *

"And that's it for this week's _Coast to Coast_ guys!" Daphne announced to her viewers cheerfully. "Don't forget, next week is our 2nd annual Halloween special!"

She signaled to the cameraman to turn off the camera. Daphne felt a happiness that she hadn't felt with her last two shows; she couldn't decide if it was because she was going to Transylvania tomorrow night or if it was because her last show went so well. Either way, she loved the feeling and it was the best she had felt in a while.

* * *

Daphne took off her jacket as she opened the creaky front door. As she got in her bedroom, she looked at the enormous amount of clothes and all the numerous different combinations she could wear them in to Transylvania. After a long day of work, even Daphne was too tired to think about these things. With a sigh, she quickly changed into sweatpants and a tank top and collapsed on her bed.

Even though she had slept for a full hour, it felt like only seconds after when the doorbell rang. Daphne groggily slipped a sweatshirt over her head as she walked to the door. "Jeepers, who is it now?" Daphne sleepily mumbled.

"Surprise!" Shaggy and Scooby yelled in tandem.

"Like, we wanted to do something special since you're gone until the 1st." Shaggy smiled.

"Thanks guys, but I'm really ti -" Daphne only partly got her thought out before Shaggy interrupted.

"No, we insist, we brought 3 cakes and everything." Shaggy revealed the party hats and cake in his hand, while Scooby held the presents.

" _Three_ cakes?" Daphne asked quizzically.

"Like, Scooby and I each eat a whole cake, so we figured you'd want some too."

Scooby giggled.

Daphne couldn't help but laugh at Shaggy and Scooby's obsession with food. "I couldn't eat another bite guys, I'm just really ex -"

"We know, you're just really excited to see us."

Daphne quickly straightened out her hair with her hands, as she realized it was messy from lying down. She was nearly exhausted to tears, but she realized Shaggy and Scooby were trying hard to make her feel special, so she finally gave in and decided to eat a piece of cake. Shaggy cut her a piece from the cake, and she began eating the slice.

"I thought you said there were three cakes, so where's the other two?" Daphne questioned

"Scooby!" Shaggy yelled, as Scooby shoved both cakes in his mouth. "Now I don't get any!"

"You can have mine," Daphne offered, "I can never eat all this anyway."

As fast as she offered, Shaggy shoved the rest of Daphne's cake down his throat.

Daphne laughed out loud. "There are times like this where I miss solving mysteries." She reminisced.

* * *

Daphne woke up the next morning to a loud buzzing in her room. It was strange, she felt exhausted, but yet excited to go to Transylvania today. She quickly finished packing and went into her car, heading towards the airport.

Daphne slept most of the plane ride, she only woke up when she heard the pilot loudly announce that they were arriving in Transylvania momentarily.

* * *

It was nine at night in Transylvania when she arrived, and the view as Daphne was leaving the airport was spectacular. Her bright red hair blew as the wind gusted, and she pulled her sweatshirt tightly around her body because of the chill. Her heels clicked all the way down the sidewalk as she hustled to the train station. Because she was a famous TV star, Daphne got the all-expenses paid VIP tour around Transylvania. The train was set to pick her up at 9:30 sharp, where she was then to go to Dracula's castle.

Someone put their arm on Daphne's shoulder, "Exxxcuse me miss!"

Daphne let out a high-pitched scream.

"Don't be alarmed, it's only me, Igor the conductor." Igor cackled after he finished his sentence. Igor was a short man, who had a hunched back, and a big, creepy-looking smile.

"Oh," Daphne tried to catch her breath, "I thought you were something else." She still felt a little uneasy about his sinister appearance. She hopped in the train, which was decorated for the Halloween season. "So, what's the itinerary for tonight?" Daphne asked curiously.

"I'll show you to your room, and you have the night to unpack." Igor informed.

Daphne was glad there was nothing to do tonight, she needed the night to unwind.

Igor quickly drove through the area up towards Dracula's castle. "Beautiful castle!" Daphne said in awe.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew the legend…"

"What legend?"

"500 years ago tonight, Count Dracula fell into a deep sleep, and vowed to wake up tonight at the full moon."

"You know that's not real, right?"

"Oh, you'll see." Igor chuckled maniacally, making Daphne slightly nervous.

"Here's your room, Ms. Blake." Igor said, in his nasally, unnerving voice.

"Thanks Igor!" Daphne said perkily.

"See you in the morning, that is, if you make it until then." Igor walked down the hall, cackling to himself.

Daphne quickly unpacked her things and put on something to sleep in. She adjusted the covers rapidly and curled up into a cozy position in bed.

* * *

Daphne woke up near ten the next morning, taking the covers off of herself with a yawn. Stretching her arms back, she got out of bed and adjusted her hair so it was suitable for breakfast. She quick put on some makeup and put a grey sweatshirt given to her by the TV station over her tank top. As she groggily walked down the stairs, she said good morning to a few of her fellow tourists with a smile as she headed towards the breakfast table.

The day went quick, volunteering at the town's Halloween Week celebration booths. It was funner than she expected, helping the kids carve pumpkins and other various activities to celebrate the holiday. She was more excited about the night, because she was going to get a chance to investigate some of the paranormal rumors of the famous Count Dracula in the castle. As the night at the Halloween Carnival went on, it got colder and colder, and Daphne thought she was going to freeze to death in the chill night air. Just as it got unbearable, the tour director, John Spilka, announced over the walkie-talkie system that the train was here to take Daphne back to the castle. Daphne shivered as she pulled her sweatshirt around her body while walking onto the train. At that moment, she noticed Igor, who was driving the train yet again.

"Hey Igor, what's up?" she asked cheerily.

"Your time is up, if you go back into that castle!" Igor yelled ominously.

"Look, I know they hired you to be all scary for the tourists, but can we please cut the crap and have a _normal_ conversation?"

"I was serious! Dracula is awake from his 500 year slumber, I saw him roaming the castle halls last night!"

Daphne rolled her eyes.

Igor's voice suddenly turned from raspy and scary into a normal man's voice.

"Look, I'm not really Igor."

"Aha, now we're getting somewhere" Daphne smiled.

"I'm Agent Ethan Gorr, from the Transylvania Police Department. I was sent here on an assignment to investigate some eerie disappearances in that castle."

"So you think there's some weird axe-murderer down there killing people?"

"No, my research has led me to believe that there are supernatural creatures at work here. I've seen some weird things in there - secret passages, doors slamming by themselves, and some strange electrical noises in the basement at night."

"So why dress up as Igor, why not just say you're an agent investigating this case?"

"These are supernatural forces, not humans. We don't know who to trust, one of them could be working for Dracula."

"Wait, Dracula? You mean you really believe in that children's nonsense?" Daphne asked.

"Like I've said, I've seen him, but he's never seen me. Wait, aren't you investigating because you think there's some creature hiding in there?"

"I've met real ghosts, zombies, and even cat creatures before. This place just seems intentionally designed to scare children, not real scary. Everywhere I've investigated before has always had a weird, paranormal vibe. This just seems kiddy and ridiculous."

"Look, if you want to go wandering that castle alone at night, be my guest. Don't blame me if you die."

* * *

Daphne went down into the cold, dark cellar by herself to investigate the claims made by the agent, even though she doubted the existence of the thing she was searching for. As she walked down the cold basement hallway, she saw and heard nothing out of the ordinary, until a loud electrical sound zapped down the hallway. As she inched closer to the door where the electrical surge came from, Daphne glanced above herself to see a light buzzing on and off. She made a sigh of relief that there was no danger, until she saw the tall dark figure under the light. As the light flashed on, it revealed a horrible, gruesome figure with a pale green face that had numerous scars. There were huge, grey bolts through his monstrous head. Daphne shouted in terror, and ran up the stairs as the horrible figure began chasing her. As she burst up the staircase, the huge figure slowly followed her. She attempted to pull on the door leading to upstairs, the lock wouldn't budge as she frantically tugged at it. Feeling a sudden need to stop for a few seconds while she caught her breath, she leaned against the wall, causing the wall to spin around back into the hallway near her room. Daphne breathed heavily from tiredness and terror while walking back into her room. She was so freaked out by the giant monster, she jumped in her bed and pulled the covers over her head without getting ready for bed or changing into her sleep clothes. As she shivered in the bed, the realization hit her that the ghostly figure she had seen was Frankenstein. _Aha,_ she thought in her head, _that must have been what the electrical noise was. He must have been...brought back from the dead._ The fact hit her like a rock, that there actually was a real monster running around the castle at night. And what if it found her in her room? Daphne had to push the thought out of her head if she was ever going to get any sleep for the long day ahead tomorrow.

Daphne couldn't stay asleep for the full night, even reading, which usually immediately put her to sleep, wasn't helping push away the thoughts that she may be harmed or even killed by the hideous creature, roaming somewhere in the castle halls.

"This vay, Frankenstein, let's see if the snooper is in this room" said a creepy, raspy voice.

Her heart was pounding, and blood was rushing to her head, as she hid her body under the covers, trying to make it as flat as possible to avoid being seen.

Footsteps came into the room, followed by a deep voice saying, "not in here, master."

"Good, then ve vill see vhere else the intruder may have vandered."

The footsteps slowly got fainter and fainter, as Daphne let out a huge exhaling sigh. She knew she couldn't just sit in that room waiting for the creatures to attack her, so she quickly changed into a green _Coast to Coast_ t-shirt and some light grey pants, and slipped out of the room to warn the other fellow tourists.

As she reached for the first door next to her room, she slowly opened it and peered around the door.

"Hello?" Daphne whispered.

No one was there.

 _Odd,_ Daphne thought _, I heard them all come back an hour ago_.

Daphne carefully checked the other rooms, finding no one, to her dismay.

 _How is that possible?,_ she thought.

Daphne knew the only thing left to do was to get out of the castle before she too disappeared like the rest of the tourists.

* * *

To avoid attracting unwanted attention to herself, Daphne slowly sneaked down to the main castle entrance, making her steps as carefully as possible. As she arrived at the front door, a quick pull of the knob let her know that there was no way out. About to turn around, she saw a large shadow clouding her view. Painfully, she spun around, only to find Count Dracula, who had his arms extended and fangs pointed towards her throat. She opened her mouth to scream, but she was so scared that all the sound seemed to disappear from her mouth. In the spur of the moment, she quickly shuffled around the corner and ran down the steps. As she ducked around numerous corners, she had to stop for a brief second to catch her breath. She put her hand up to her heart, and could feel the pounding of it through her thick sweatshirt. She was so frightened, she cupped her hands around her mouth to avoid letting the scream be heard. Although her immediate response was to curl up into a ball to shield herself from the terrifying surroundings, she knew she had to run as she heard footsteps coming down the dark hallway. The footsteps slowly got closer and closer, even though she was running as fast as humanly possible. Her heart nearly stopped when she felt a cold, clammy hand on her shoulder.

"Daphne!" the voice said.

Daphne turned around to see Agent Gorr, who looked almost as terrified as she did.

"Thank god you're here!" she whispered.

"You've seen them too?" Ethan asked her.

"Yes, I nearly didn't get away."

"Well, follow me, I've been investigating here for a while, so I know all the secret passages that'll get us out of here so you can get your film of Dracula back to your show safely."

Daphne had been so scared, she had completely forgot to film anything past where Dracula nearly got her. She quickly turned it back on, and put her camera strap so the camera faced behind them, to catch whatever may be chasing them.

"Don't look now, but I think we have company." Ethan gulped.

Frankenstein let out a loud roar, as he reached his hands around the two humans. As he attempted to grab them, both of them ran as quick as they could around the hallway into a large room.

"Where are we?" Daphne whispered.

"In the ballroom. Now if we can get on the other side, there's a secret passage that I found that will lead us out of this basement before."

"You vill not escape!" Dracula shouted.

"Other way other way other way!" Daphne repeatedly yelled at Ethan.

"Oh, really? I was thinking about running up to Dracula and giving him a hug." Agent Gorr said sarcastically.

Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Any other secret passages around?" she asked.

"Yes, but we'll have to go back where we first met up and go the opposite direction."

Daphne felt a tingling of fear inside her stomach as she heard loud footsteps behind her. Her instincts told her to look back to see what might be chasing her, but she immediately voided the idea, telling herself she would watch the film once she was back in the studio.

As they nearly made it to the other side of the basement, the footsteps behind them were getting louder.

"Here we are." Ethan whispered quietly.

"But...this is just a statue." Daphne pointed out.

Ethan quickly pressed a button and the statue split in half, revealing a secret staircase leading back upstairs. Daphne suddenly felt some relief, until she checked behind her and saw Dracula and Frankenstein nearly had caught up to them.

"Quick, up the stairs!" Daphne yelled, as Ethan pressed a button inside the staircase, closing the gap in the statue. She could hear what she presumed to be Frankenstein, pounding on the now-closed statue, trying to get in.

"Now, up the other staircase!" Ethan yelled.

"But...this will lead us back to our bedrooms. That's not going to help us escape."

"Yes, it will, just come on." Ethan urged.

* * *

As they opened the door to Daphne's room, clothes were thrown everywhere and the room was a complete mess.

"Someone must have been looking for something in your suitcase." Ethan guessed.

"Umm...that was me." Daphne smiled sheepishly, as she picked up a pair of purple and pink striped socks off of a chair.

She began picking up all of the clothes off of the floor, when Ethan interjected "Shouldn't we be trying to escape? You can buy new clothes at home."

"Aww...but I love this shirt!" Daphne showed him a white cotton blouse with a pink peace sign in the middle.

"I think getting out alive is more important." Ethan said, as he noticed an open window blowing a breeze into her room. "This is at least a fifty foot drop, but that long vine looks like it's thick enough for you to crawl out on it. So let's start….oh come on!" he shouted, as Daphne was thoughtfully folding up a pair of jeans into her suitcase. "Get out on that vine, unless you want Dracula to kill you!"

"Okay, okay, boys are so pushy when it comes to fashion." Daphne snarked at him, causing Ethan to roll his eyes.

Daphne began to get closer to the ground, and she could begin to make out the surroundings. Up up!" Daphne suddenly yelled, unable to form a full sentence in the heat of the moment.

As Ethan pulled the vine up, he stared at Daphne, waiting for an explanation.

"There was a huge lake down there!"

"Well, why didn't you swim?"

"I can't swim very well...besides I can't stand the feeling of water on my skin."

Ethan rolled his eyes, "Well, can you stand the feeling of being brutally murdered by horrible monsters?" Daphne was about to come up with a comeback, when Frankenstein pounded down her bedroom door.

"Now, you are finished! No vay to escape!" Dracula grinned.

Ethan quick ran into the closet and pressed another button, revealing an opening with a huge pole. Daphne quick followed him down the pole.

"Where are we now?" Daphne groaned.

"Back in the basement."

"Why'd you bring us back here? Now we're back where we started!"

"Well, maybe if someone wouldn't have been so worried about her luggage, we would have had more time to figure a way out!"

"I already said I'm sorry!"

"This is no time for an argument," Ethan whispered, "Look, we're in Dracula's crypt."

"Look, there's a window over there! That's our way out!"

"Your way out." Ethan corrected.

"Wait, you're not coming with me?" Daphne said, with a bit of sadness in her voice.

"No. I was hired to investigate what's going on in the castle, and I haven't finished my investigation yet."

"But…"

"No time for idle conversation, if you don't leave now, you may not be able to."

"Well, thanks for everything Ethan. Good luck!" Daphne yelled as she was climbing out the window.

As she looked back, she saw Dracula sliding down the pole, and Ethan running down another hallway. Even though they had argued a lot, Daphne still felt a bit of emptiness since she was leaving the person who saved her behind to certain doom. Daphne walked out of the castle gates, she looked behind her one last time at the castle, and then up at the moon, wondering what would become of Agent Ethan Gorr as she walked to the train station, hoping to find a train headed for home.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Reference time:

\- As I said above the whole chapter is a reference to "The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone." Literally, the locations they run in Dracula's castle, the fact that Dracula teamed up with Frankenstein, and quite a few other aspects. All references to the movie. Again I recommend you watch it if you haven't, best Flintstones movie in my opinion. Very Scooby-ish in a way and also a great Halloween special all around.

\- Ethan Gorr was a reference to Igor, who drove the Flintstones up to Rockula's castle in the movie.

I don't mean to imply that every single reference I do in the next chapters will be of "The Flintstones," it just happened to work out best where I had two references to the series back-to-back.

Also a bit of a fun fact for you about this chapter, I originally intended this chapter and the next one to be switched around (meaning this chapter should have been episode 4). It just happened that I never got to finishing the real chapter 3 on time, so I wrote this one so it would line up with the Halloween holiday that I was writing it during. As I hate shows that air out of order, I'm not going to share chapter 4 as it is because the date I have it taking place on in the story (October 13-29) wouldn't fit with the dates in this one (October 30 - November 1) when Daphne returned from Transylvania. So the version of the next chapter you read will the dates slightly altered.


	4. Book Shop of Horror

**Author's note:**

So this chapter turned out really well in my opinion! A lot of great references all throughout the story and I think you really get to see Velma and Daphne as more fully-formed, three-dimensional individuals in this chapter.

Also, as I said in the last chapter's notes, this was originally intended to be written as chapter three. Anyways, that's all I have for now, onwards to chapter 4!

* * *

It was a chilly fall day in November. The trees were almost bare of leaves outside the rectangular window of Dinkley's Mystery Books, where the owner, Velma Dinkley was arranging books. Velma jumped as the loud phone on the front desk rang at an ear-piercing volume. She picked up the phone, responding cheerfully to her potential customer.

"Hello, this is Dinkley's Mystery Books, Velma speaking! What can I help you with?"

The voice over the phone let out a hearty chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Velma asked, trying to imagine what the person could be laughing at.

The voice did not respond, but the hearty chuckle quickly turned into a boisterous laugh, getting louder by the second. It almost sounded...evil.

"Umm...sir?" Velma responded, with a bit of uncertainty in her voice, "Can I help you?"

The laugh suddenly turned into a ghastly giggle. In horror, Velma hung up the phone, not wanting to deal with whoever was on the other end. After a sigh of relief, Velma suddenly heard the bone-chilling laugh again, but louder. Velma checked to phone to make sure it was completely hung up, but it was...meaning the person was in the bookstore with her! Frantically looking around, Velma saw a shadow behind one of her tall wooden bookcases.

"Hey, you!" she yelled, trying to sound confident, despite being scared stiff, "Who are you?"

"You know nothing of my immense power!" the figure laughed as it quickly darted around the corner before Velma could see any part of it. The figure quickly ran out the back door before Velma could see it, dropping a small white piece of paper in front of the door. Velma picked up the small note and read "Beware of the Phantom Thriller!"

Velma knew exactly what to do. She picked up the phone, dialed the number and listened to the ringing, waiting impatiently for it to be answered. Finally, she heard a familiar voice, and asked "hello, may I speak to Daphne Blake?"

* * *

Daphne smiled as she received the call from Velma. After all they had so much fun on their trip to Terror Hill, and they hadn't seen each other in weeks. She was shocked that Velma even felt the need to ask if she could spare the time to help her with her bookstore, since they had been friends as early as elementary school. Daphne quickly put on her purple jacket, which was in the recording room, and ran to her car to help Velma.

Daphne got out of her car to see the beautiful autumn leaves falling from the tall oak sitting besides Dinkley's Mystery Books. After staring for a moment in awe at the true beauty, Daphne saw a somewhat troubling site: Velma pacing back and forth in front of her bookstore, with a worried look on her face. Velma looked up and smiled when she saw the red-haired girl's familiar face.

"Daph!" Velma called out.

"Hi Velms, you said something was wrong?"

"Yes, well…you see…umm…"

Daphne could tell Velma was uncomfortable. "What is it?" said a concerned Daphne. Usually Velma was very focused on facts and reason, she had never seen her this unnecessarily nervous. Or maybe she was necessarily nervous.

"I'll show you." Velma whispered.

Daphne realized something must have been horribly wrong, otherwise Velma would be a lot calmer about this. Velma went through her front desk, looking for what she was going to show Daphne, while Daphne distractedly looked through some of the mystery books Velma was selling. "A Snow Beast Fight," "The Great Witch Switch of 1978," and "A Spooky Race at the Grand Prix Place" were the only titles Daphne read before Velma said she found whatever she was looking for.

Daphne saw Velma holding a small piece of paper with the words "Beware the Phantom Thriller" written in some kind of red liquid. She began to wonder if maybe it was blood.

"Maybe it was some kind of joke!" Daphne tried to make light of the situation, but to no avail.

"If it was a joke, why would the person come IN my bookstore?" Velma emphasized, still pacing.

"Well, I don't know, some people just have…" Daphne tried to search for the words that would assure Velma, "an eccentric sense of humor!"

Velma gave Daphne a skeptical look, to which Daphne just gave a shrug.

"Well, last time it happened at night, so maybe come back then. I can't convince you without evidence." Velma suggested.

"It's not that I don't believe you…it's just…"

Daphne's response was cut off by Velma saying "No, it's fine. See you tonight." Daphne was shocked by Velma's coldness towards her, her replies so short as to avoid conversation. But there was nothing she could do about Velma's odd attitude, since she didn't feel she did anything wrong as to offend Velma. As she had yet to record her fourth episode of season two, Daphne decided to go back to work to finish recording her fourth episode of the season, and forget about the issue for now.

* * *

Daphne opened her car door, and saw the beautiful moon shining down upon the same oak tree, and all the stars twinkling from above. With a sigh, Daphne entered Velma's shop, expecting the worst due to Velma's poor interaction with her earlier today. Daphne opened the glass door, and looked at the front desk for any sign of Velma.

"Velms?" Daphne asked, as she saw no sign of her short-haired friend. She saw a shadow over by the wooden bookcase, and walked over to what appeared to be the shadow of Velma. As the shadow turned the corner to the next bookcase, Daphne yelled "Velms, it's me!" The shadow stopped, appearing to acknowledge that Daphne was talking to it. "Hi Ve-"

Daphne stopped as the figure was indeed not Velma, but a cloaked figure in a black cape and black robe, its red eyes glaring menacingly at her.

"Stay away from this place!" the phantom's voice rasped, "I'm watching you!"

Daphne quickly pulled out her camera to film the ghost, but the phantom just took it's bony arm out of its cloak and pointed at Daphne, before disappearing into a cloud of black smoke.

At that moment, Velma walked out from behind the back of her shop, greeting Daphne. Daphne didn't even noticed that she had been talked to, as her body pulsed with fear and adrenaline from the ghost sighting.

"Daph? Daph? Look, I'm sorry about this afternoon."

Daphne was still too engrossed in the moment to speak to her friend.

"Daph? I was just frustrated because…"

"Velma! I saw the phantom! That's what I'll do my show on!"

"Daph? What about my bookstore? Nobody will want to come in a haunted bookstore!"

"Yeah, of course! Not only catching a ghost on film but capturing a real life ghost…that'll be like ratings heaven! Of course, if you don't mind closing your store for a few days for me to film?"

"Yeah, sure Daphne." Velma began acting seemingly cold to Daphne, and walked out of her bookstore, "Goodnight. You can stay as long as you like," she said before closing the door.

Daphne was a bit hurt by Velma's detached responses to her, but she was too excited about this amazing opportunity to worry about it now. As she knew she couldn't sleep, Daphne decided to just start filming now. Daphne set her new camera to "auto-record" on her purple tripod which she had just received from the station.

"3, 2, 1," Daphne counted down aloud, as she heard the beep of the recording starting. "Hello, this is Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake. I'm in Dinkley's Mystery Books right now where I have just…"

Daphne's camera suddenly went blurry as the lights began to flicker. She began walking along the floor, her pink heels clicking on the tile. "H-h-ello?" Daphne called, hoping not to hear a response. Suddenly, the lights went back on and Daphne's camera became clear again. With a sigh of relief, Daphne took a deep breath, trying to slow her heartbeat which she could hear beating quickly. At that moment, Daphne began to notice that every light was still on except the one by the same wooden bookshelf that she had seen the apparition before, which was currently flickering. Daphne walked slowly towards the bookshelf, knowing she would find nothing good behind the bookshelf. Three left, two left, one left, she counted down in her head as the impending doom approached. Daphne closed her eyes, expecting to see the familiar shadowy figure in her path. She opened her eyes in a flash, knowing she could not wait any longer. But nothing was there, only a faulty light. Daphne walked up the aisle, where she still saw no sight of the ghost. She quickly walked back the other way down the aisle, and noticed a book that had fallen on the ground. Still filming, Daphne zoomed in the book and read it on the camera screen. The book cover had a picture of a phantom in a white sheet, taking a swipe at a teenaged red-headed girl in a purple dress. The title read "Watch Your Back!"

Suddenly, Daphne turned around to see the ghost appear in a cloud of black smoke, rasping "I warned you!" as its bony hand reached towards Daphne's heart. She began to scream as the lights went out. Daphne waited for the worst, but nothing happened. In a flash, the lights went on, only for Daphne to see a giant bear over her!

Daphne began shouting for help, hoping maybe Velma or someone would hear her. No one did though, as the white-furred creature approached Daphne. As the bear reached its menacingly sharp claws towards Daphne, the lights went out again. Expecting to be mauled, Daphne shut her eyes and held her hands over her face. Again, nothing happened, as Daphne opened her eyes. Daphne began to sprint out of the area where the haunting occurred, but didn't make it before the cloaked figure appeared again.

"This is your last warning! Do not invoke the Phantom Thriller or you shall face eternal doom!" with a ghostly chuckle, and clapped its hands as the lights turned off once again.

All of a sudden, she could hear Velma entering the shop, shouting "Daphne, are you in here?" Daphne could hear Velma's footsteps, as she was running through the bookstore. She heard a loud bang, and a scream of pain. Within a few seconds, the lights flashed back on.

"I came back to give you the keys to lock up, and all the lights were out." Velma explained.

"Oh, did you run into one of the bookshelves?" Daphne asked her friend.

"That wasn't you I ran into?" Velma said in a confused manner.

"No…are you sure you didn't run into something else?" Daphne questioned.

"No." Velma firmly stated, with a look of disapproval clear on her face. "It was definitely a person."

"Hmmm…" Daphne thought, as a piece of shiny rubber caught her eye. Looking closer at the strange piece of material, she saw a cut-off logo, "Nike runn."

"Nike Running Shoes!" Daphne concluded. "Wait…but what ghost needs shoes?"

"I don't know," Velma said in an annoyed tone. "Hey! Don't go into the back storage room!"

"Wait, what? I didn't!" Daphne asserted.

"Then how do you explain this?" Velma raised her voice, showing Daphne a human sized bear rug.

"That wasn't me! That was the bear that attacked me!"

"Sure it did! Now you can just leave my store, I don't want you touching my stuff anymore!" Velma shouted, as she slammed the door behind Daphne.

"But Velms!" Daphne said apologetically.

"Don't call me that! Now good night!" Velma walked away, her back turned to her redheaded friend.

* * *

The next morning, Daphne got up and went straight to Velma's bookstore, since she felt horrible about her and Velma's argument the previous night. As she had a plan, Daphne decided to bring her brightest spotlight from home.

"Velma!" Daphne said cheerfully, hoping it would lighten the mood. Velma came out from the back storage room with a stern look on her face. "I wanted to apologize and tell you I have a –"

"Go away, I'm not ready to talk to you right now." Velma interrupted, while going to the back of the store, towards the same wooden bookshelf.

"Velma, wait, don't go –" Daphne tried to warn Velma, but she didn't listen. Immediately, the ghost appeared in a puff of smoke, its red eyes glaring at Velma.

"I warned you! Now you shall pay!" the ghost began floating towards Velma, when Daphne turned the lights off.

Daphne waited a few seconds, and re-turned on the lights. The ghost, in mid-sprint, whose eyes were growing large with surprise, kept running.

"Let's put some light on the subject!" Daphne shouted, as she turned on the spotlight she had brought in from her house. The ghost covered its red eyes, blinded by the incredibly bright light.

"Now let's see who we have here!" Daphne said, taking the ghost's cloak from over its head.

"Wait? What?"

"Who is this?" Velma asked quizzically.

"It's….that weird security guard? The one that told me to go to Terror Hill!"

"But why?" Velma questioned.

"I'm not telling you anything." the security guard grumbled.

"I think I know someone who can change your mind." Daphne smiled as she saw a familiar man wearing a brown shirt and jeans walk through the front door.

"Detective Neville?" Velma was shocked to see her old friend from Zombie Island right in her very town.

"Alright, tell us what you were doing here, buddy," Beau Neville said in a stern voice.

"I don't have to tell you a thing!" the security guard shouted.

"Well, if you don't, I can take you in right now for police questioning!" Beau said aggressively.

"Alright! I was trying to scare Velma out of the bookstore so I could buy the land cheap!" the guard blurted out.

"Why did you pose as a security guard at the TV station?" Daphne asked, trying to process through what was happening.

"Isn't it obvious? I was trying get your friend to go to Terror Hill while I found a way to set the haunting up in the bookstore. I set up a wireless connection that turned off the lights with a touch of a button under my cloak. I clapped my hands to stop you from hearing the beeping noise!"

"And what about the bear?" Daphne dug for more information.

"The bear was just a prop from the back that I wore over my cloak. I also had a moose head rigged up on a wire if there was a need for more haunting."

"You mean Tyler? Yeah, I borrowed that decoration from Fred's house." Velma added.

"OK, I've heard enough, what's your name?" Beau questioned.

"John Barnes." the security guard mumbled, obviously incredibly embarrassed he was caught.

"John Barnes, you're under arrest." Beau said, as he took the guard away and read him his rights.

"Daphne, I don't know how to thank you! But how did you know the ghost and Beau would show up?" Velma had so many questions she almost didn't know what to ask first.

"Simple, Beau agreed to have a spot on my show, and I got all the ghost appearances on camera…"

Velma cut Daphne off again, "Oh, so that's how it is, huh?

"What's how it is?"

"All you care about is your stupid show! You only visit me, one of your best friends, when it's convenient for your show! We used to be so close, but now all you care about is fame and fortune!"

"Velma, if it bugs you, I won't use that footage on the show."

"You don't get it! Just use the stupid footage, see if I care!" Velma yelled.

"Velma, I'm just busy…."

"I don't want to hear it! Do your stupid show, I hope you choke on the money you're making!" Velma stormed out of the store, leaving Daphne to sit in silence in the store, only left to think about her terrible mistake.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

First of all, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it!

The Velma-Daphne argument I think is what makes Daphne and Velma seem more like real people. We're so used to seeing the characters all in perfect harmony and I think it's good to mix things up sometimes and make us see the characters in a different and more realistic light than we do.

Reference time:

\- Tyler the moose from Fred's house is a reference to Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated's "A Haunting In Crystal Cove." Thought it would be fitting to include that since this chapter does have a "shadowy figure" as a villain, same as the episode did.

\- The bear rug is a reference to the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated online game Crystal Cove Online, a weekly game that was put out that followed the storyline of the SDMI episode of the week. In the part of the game that mirrored "A Haunting In Crystal Cove," the shadowy figure's minions that you had to defeat were living bear rugs.

The book titles from Velma's bookstore, "A Snow Beast Fight," "The Great Witch Switch of 1978" and "The Spooky Race at the Grand Prix Place" are references to respective Scooby-Doo Show episodes "A Scary Night With A Snow Beast Fright," "To Switch A Witch" and "The Spooky Case of the Grand Prix Race."

\- The description of "Watch Your Back" was a reference to the scene after Daphne fell down the trap door in "Hassle in the Castle."


	5. Terror at Twilight

**Author's note:**

I'm not going to say much to introduce this one other than I LOVED writing it. On my profile, I have a sentence reading "I believe a story has reached its prime when the characters write themselves and take the story in a different direction than you ever imagined." This is that time for Coast to Coast. When I originally started writing this chapter, I had planned it to be completely different from what it is right now. But as I started writing, the story totally took a mind of its own and went the direction it wanted to go, and the characters just wrote themselves. I am so proud of this chapter, as this is what I wanted Coast to Coast to achieve all along, and it's finally at that point where the characters build off of each other and I don't have to have a "plan" of what's going to happen in place, because the characters write it themselves. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. Without further comment, here is the long awaited chapter 5 of Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake!

* * *

Whoosh.

That was the sound of pamphlets being scattered across Daphne's desk by of the production staff. Daphne briefly paged through each of them. Spooky Manor, Creepy Estates, Creepy-Spooky Mansion. Yawn.

"Didn't you find any other pamphlets, Nick?" Daphne impatiently asked her staff member.

"Well, I found this one." He replied, showing her a pamphlet interestingly titled "Terror at Twilight."

Before she got the chance to say she liked it, Nick began telling her about the place.

"It's another fascinating haunted location near the Canadian border. It's a spooky old cabin up in the woods, super old-fashioned and all that." Daphne perked her ears up, a movement that was visible enough to prompt Nick to explain his vague statement. "This place has got no running water, no heat, it doesn't even have a bathroom!" Daphne caught herself gagging a little bit to think she'd have to use the bathroom outside. She didn't have much chance to give it further thought before Nick clarified. "Well, it has an outhouse."

"What's the catch though?" Daphne questioned, curious as to why he would suggest a place that didn't appear to have any supernatural affiliation.

"No one knows what's up there. People have gone to find it in the woods, but no one has ever returned. A few of the locals say the place is haunted." Nick confirmed.

"Now you're speaking my language! Then it's settled, I'll leave tonight." Daphne said in a bubbly-sounding voice.

"I wouldn't go up there alone if I were you. Most of the people that have disappeared have gone up alone. Plus, did I mention this place is nearly a mile off the road into the woods? Why don't you take someone from the old gang up there, you know, like old times?" Nick suggested, being cautious as to avoid hitting a sore spot with Daphne.

"Well, Velma's still mad at me, so she would never go." Daphne displayed a hurt look on her face, remembering back to Velma and her argument at Velma's bookstore.

"Can't you take Fred then?" Nick offered.

Daphne just gave him an "are-you-kidding?" look and pointed over to Fred's office, which was right next to hers.

Nick looked over at Fred's office to hear him yelling in a boisterous voice. "Aw, sweet! Someone named Prince Rahman just sent me an email saying he'd give me 3 million dollars US! And I all I have to do is give him all my bank account information? It would be a crime not to do this!"

Daphne rolled her eyes at Fred's ineptness, and then brought her mind back to the thought of how she couldn't go alone. "Well, if Velma's mad at me, and Fred's an imbecile, that just leaves…"

* * *

A few hours later…

* * *

"Yeah, Daph, I'd love to go up to a cabin and spend some time with you again. But…there's a catch." Shaggy informed cautiously.

"I'm afraid to ask…what is it?" Daphne replied nervously, thinking she was in for a big surprise of some sort.

"Scooby gets to come along with us."

"Ri like cabins too!" Scooby smiled adorably, as he reached for a suitcase full of bones.

Feeling immediately relieved, Daphne put her arms around the two boys and said with a smile, "I wouldn't have it any other way!"

It took only a short few hours for the trio to pack everything up for the trip, and they left in the early afternoon on the five hour excursion that loomed ahead.

As Scooby stuck his head out of the car window, Shaggy saw a sign that read 'Canada: 30 miles ahead.' "Like, didn't you say it was about thirty miles from the Canadian border, Daphne?"

Daphne looked up from her daydream and replied to Shaggy. "Oh yeah, why don't we stop for gas quick and ask the cashier if we're close?"

"Yeah! Scoob, you ready to stop?"

Scooby pulled his head from out of the window and began wagging his tail with excitement. "Reah, reah!"

* * *

Daphne pulled into the gas station as Shaggy began filling up her tank with gas. Daphne went in ahead into the rustic looking old gas station. The entire foundation was built from logs and furnished in animal trophy heads. The cashier looked up at her with friendly eyes and said "Why hello there and welcome to Forestside Stations! What can I do for you?"

"My friends and I are looking for Twilight Cabin, we have to be close, right?" Daphne said assertively.

"A little too close, if you ask me." The cashier responded, still smiling.

"Excuse me?" Daphne looked up at him, confused as ever.

"I don't want to scare you, but did you know that Twilight Cabin is…haunted?"

"We know, in fact we're here for my show. You know, Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake?"

The cashier gave her a blank stare.

"I'm Daphne Blake!" Daphne attempted to clarify, since the man was obviously confused.

"Never heard of ya," the cashier said bluntly, as he scratched his gray-haired head.

"Oh, I'm nothing much," Daphne said humbly, "Just another one of those haunted attraction-seeking shows that tries to capture supernatural activity on film."

"This is one supernatural attraction you'll want to skip, honey. Many just like you have come here asking me for directions to that place, and the next morning, they're missing and presumed dead." The man slammed his hand down on the merchandise counter, in attempt to seem serious.

"Like, zoinks!" Shaggy commented, just coming into the gas station at that moment. "Let's head home, Daphne!"

"Your friend there is smart. Only a fool would take the risk of going in that place!" the gray-haired cashier said grimly.

"Well, I guess we're fools then, because we're going in and capturing whatever's in there on film!" Daphne slammed her hand down on the counter in attempt to mimic the cashier.

"Once you go in, you won't be able to turn back! They're callin' for twelve inches of rain tonight, roads'll be flooded. Too dangerous to travel."

"We're prepared to take that risk!" Daphne said, as she motioned towards the exit door.

As Daphne and Shaggy closed the door to the gas station, and got in their car, the cashier simply watched them and said to himself, "They'll be sorry!"

* * *

The trio continued driving down the dark, desolate road to meet whatever their fate was. Daphne tried to focus herself on driving, especially since the night sky was getting foggy. "Hey Daph, stop!"

Thinking it was some emergency, Daphne slammed on the brakes and looked sideways at Shaggy.

"There's a sign for Twilight Cabin, it says only 1 mile!"

"But that sign points to the left!" Daphne looked to her left to see a oddly narrow path off the road that led down a large, grassy hill. The path didn't even look fit for a walking trail.

"Well, that settles that, let's go home then." Shaggy smiled along with Scooby, ready to turn around.

"No, we're going to try the path."

Shaggy let out a big gulp, that Scooby quickly mimicked.

Daphne veered over to the side of the road and began her trek down the narrow path, quickly plummeting to the bottom of the steep hill.

"Zoinks! We've lost control!"

Scooby covered his eyes in fear and began whimpering.

"I'll ride the brakes, we're almost down." Daphne calmly stated, while Shaggy and Scooby were a nervous wreck.

As Daphne's car began rumbling, the car made it to the bottom of the hill, and Shaggy and Scooby caught a breath of relief.

Scooby uncovered his eyes to see a dark, spooky walking path surrounded by scraggly trees. The road, which was only made of gravel, caused the car to bounce up and down repeatedly.

"Guys…we're here." Daphne said almost speechlessly, as she looked up at the small, broken-down looking cabin. The night sky was almost eerie, with a full moon hanging high above the gnarled trees. All three of them looked up at the cabin in both awe and shock, as the scenery was beautiful yet spooky to all of them. The cabin, which was completely made of wood, had several small holes in the foundation.

Shaggy finally broke the group's silence, "Like wow! How does this place stay up?"

"Well, if it did fall down overnight, no one would know. We drove over a mile into the woods." Daphne said in a haunting voice. "Um-m-m…should we go in?"

"Like, I guess now is as good of time as any."

Daphne pushed on the door, still left unlocked as she had expected from the previous visitor. As the door creaked, the red-haired girl braced herself for what creature was inside. The door opened to reveal the eerie cabin, which looked like it had stayed the same for nearly 50 years. The furniture was tidied, yet the floors were covered in dead insects. Like the gas station, the place was furnished with tons of animal heads, as if the place wasn't already creepy enough.

"Well…" There was a long pause between Daphne's speech. "I guess we can start unpacking."

"Uh…yeah…I guess." Shaggy said awkwardly, not knowing how to handle himself in the strangely spooky yet interesting surroundings.

After Daphne brought in her several bags, Shaggy brought in his one suitcase while Scooby brought in two suitcases, one filled with bones, of course.

While Shaggy walked past with his suitcase to go to his room with Scooby, Daphne swept all the dead bugs on the floor, while visibly gagging at the sight of the several giant spiders that had met their demise. Daphne's shoulders began to shake vigorously from the cool Fall air, so she quickly put down her broom in a bug-free corner and walked into her room to find something warm to wear. As she picked out a fuzzy purple sweatshirt out of her bag, she rubbed the soft material against her face to remain warm.

Meanwhile, Shaggy unpacked in his room and began brushing his teeth, as there was no bathroom to do it in as he normally did. As he thoughtfully brushed each tooth, he looked over at the bed to see that it was only a single bed, meaning Scooby wouldn't fit.

"Scoob, I don't think we can both fit on this bed!"

But it didn't matter, as Scooby had already found his place and laid down on an ugly-looking brown couch. "Ri'll re rokay, Raggy." Scooby assured him, as he repositioned himself on the uncomfortable couch.

As Daphne finished up sweeping, Shaggy had finished brushing his teeth for the night and had walked out into the cold main room where Daphne was currently. "Like, goodnight Daph!" Shaggy said.

Daphne was staring off into space for a moment, when her brain finally noticed the presence of Shaggy and that he had spoken to her. "Oh, goodnight! I'm just going to record the intro for my show on the front porch and go to bed."

"Okay, be safe!"

That made Daphne more worried than she already was, as she was trying to escape the fact that she very well could run into a vengeful ghost that could make her disappear along with the other tourists…forever.

* * *

Daphne walked outside the cabin's front door and quickly adjusted her hair before turning her camera on. The camera was ice cold, and Daphne's hands were figuratively frozen just holding the thing.

"Hello and happy Saturday, Daphanatics! Daphne Blake here to give you another fantastic episode of Coast to Coast. This week, me and my friend Shaggy and his dog, Scooby are here at the Twilight Cabin, where creepy happenings have been reported to be going on. Stay tuned fans, because things could get real spooky here!"

Daphne turned off the camera, and walked inside, nearly frozen. She quickly brushed her teeth and began brushing her hair thoughtfully, as she put a piece of wood in the fireplace to keep the cabin warm. Exhausted, she quickly climbed into bed and fell right to sleep.

* * *

Daphne began walking around the perimeter of the cabin with her camera. She couldn't remember why she had decided to get out of bed, but she quickly dropped the thought as she saw two glowing red lights up ahead. Daphne snuck closer to the red lights, which appeared to be coming from the bushes. She slowly reached her skinny hand out into the bush, only to find the two red lights were not eyes at all, but eyes. Glowing red eyes, coming from a mysterious figure. The figure slowly became clearer and clearer in her vision, and the figure turned into a floating apparition in a dark, black cloak covering its entire body, other than its face, which was completely black inside the cape other than its glowing red eyes. The phantom got closer and closer and Daphne attempted to run, but she was completely paralyzed. The creepy figure reached an arm out of the cloak, except for it wasn't an arm, it was simply a skeleton-like bony arm. Daphne still couldn't move, and the figure reached closer, closer, closer!

* * *

Suddenly, Daphne woke up in a cold sweat, panting to catch her breath. It was just a dream. Daphne looked around the room, and saw nothing, other than the creepy-looking deer head whose unmoving eyes stared into her soul. She tried to fixate her gaze on her pillow as she adjust it, and closed her eyes once again.

* * *

Scooby woke up when he heard the rustling of bedsheets coming from Shaggy's room. Peeking his head into Shaggy's room from his view on the couch, he saw Shaggy was tossing and turning, likely uncomfortable from the mattress, which looked quite old. Scooby closed his eyes, and went back into the world of blackness once again.

* * *

Shaggy woke up near the outhouse. He had no memory of getting there, he figured he had maybe sleepwalked there or groggily walked to his bathroom destination, instinctively knowing he had to go. As Shaggy's hand reached for the outhouse door, he saw a strange black shadow behind the outhouse. The shadow morphed into a black phantom, with glowing red eyes. The phantom began chasing him, and he knew what he had to do: run! Shaggy ran through the woods as fast as he could, so fast in fact that he ran into a tree! Attempting to get up so he could make his getaway, he tried to stand up, but couldn't. He turned around to see the mysterious cloaked figure coming, reaching ever closer with its bony arm. As the phantom got within a few inches of him, its skeleton arm reached for his face, and Shaggy shut his eyes, knowing his fate.

* * *

Suddenly, Shaggy woke up and looked around. He was back in bed, with all the same surroundings. It must have been a dream, he realized, and pulled the covers over his head.

* * *

A few seconds later, Shaggy was back outside, in the same area where the phantom had reached for him. Except, there was no phantom. Maybe he had never actually woken up, and being in bed was the dream. Not questioning how he managed to escape the phantom's bony clutches, he tried to stand up, to see if he could at least move again. Pulling himself up from the ground, he realized he could and quickly ran back to the cabin and opened the door. Shaggy knew what he had to do though, he had to tell Daphne. She would be crushed if she missed getting that phantom on film, plus she needed to know of the danger. Running into her room, he prepared to raise his voice to a shouting level to wake her up.

"Daph, I…." Shaggy stopped dead in his tracks when he saw it was not Daphne in her room, but rather the cloaked phantom. "Like, I'm out of here!" Shaggy shouted, as he began running. But he couldn't. Something the phantom had done had completely paralyzed him, so he was unable to move. He tried screaming, hoping Daphne could maybe hear him, but it was no use. He couldn't move a muscle, and the phantom's skeletal arm reached for him once again. As the phantom's arm was nearly upon him, he felt a tingling in his leg.

* * *

Shaggy suddenly appeared back in his bed, not remembering anything between the phantom reaching for him and how he was back in his room. Shaggy groggily looked down, to see a gigantic rat crawling up his leg. "ZOINKS!" he screamed, as he jumped out of bed to the floor to get the rat off. The rat flew through the air and under the bed, frightening the eight other rats that were under the bed. The rats scurried out and up onto Shaggy's legs, as Shaggy ran out of the room as fast as he could, causing all the rats to fly off of his legs. The rats all scurried back under the bed, and their red eyes glowed in the darkness. Shaggy ran into Daphne's room, though she was still asleep. All of a sudden, she quickly sat up, with a look of shock on her face. "Daphne! There are rats infested in my room, and I just had a bunch of creepy nightmares!"

Incredibly shocked, Daphne replied "I did too!" she said, panting to catch her breath. "What were yours about?"

"This creepy phantom kept attacking me, and I was paralyzed and couldn't move!"

A cold sweat once again ran down Daphne's back, as she grimly asked, "What did it look like?"

Shaggy was still out of breath from a combination of running and the sheer fright of the incident. "It…had…a black cloak with no face, red eyes…and these terrifying, bony arms!"

Daphne swung her head around in horror, realizing it was the exact same dream she had. It couldn't be a coincidence. They were going to be at the mercy of this terrifying phantom.

"I don't wanna be killed in a cabin in the woods, Daphne! And there are rats in my bed, I have nowhere to sleep!" Shaggy said in a panicked voice.

"Then we'll just have to improvise." Daphne compromised, moving herself against the wall so Shaggy could also fit in the single bed with her.

Both of them felt scared out of their minds and uncomfortable, as Shaggy was practically falling off the bed to give Daphne room. They sat in bed for a while, both catching their breath while their hearts nearly pounded out of their bodies.

As Shaggy tried to make sure Daphne had enough room, he scooted over an inch further and fell off the bed with a loud bang.

Frustrated and terrified, Shaggy began raising his voice. "I don't want to be killed! And now I'm gonna have to be killed on the floor 'cause there's not even enough room in this stupid cabin!"

"Well…" Daphne awkwardly began trying explain her idea, "would it be weird if we…got closer to each other?"

"Uhhh…does that mean I won't have to be killed on a hard tile floor?" Shaggy said dryly.

"I mean, it doesn't have to be weird. There's just nowhere to sleep and it's freaking cold in here! So we're just doing it for the body heat is all. It's not real cuddling."

"Umm…okay, I guess."

Shaggy got back into bed as Daphne positioned herself tightly against his back. Shaggy immediately felt awkward, though Daphne did have a point that it was simply for keeping in body heat. In an instant, Shaggy felt a hand around him. Shaggy spun around, knowing he would see the phantom, but instead, he saw his red-haired friend with her hand around him. In an unusually breathy voice, she said "at least we'll be together when we die" and proceeded to cuddle up against him, quickly falling asleep.

Enjoying Shaggy's warmth, Daphne groggily opened her eyes to the sight of the familiar bedroom. As the minutes passed, the bedroom got colder and colder and Daphne found herself unable to fall back to sleep. Quickly realizing the fire had gone out, Daphne decided she was going to get up. At least she could get rid of the awkwardness of sleeping right next to someone she had no particular romantic interest in. As she stretched her legs to get up, she found something peculiar…she could get up, but she didn't want to. Something about Shaggy's presence made her feel completely safe and relaxed. In fact, it was almost beautiful.

Suddenly, Daphne heard a loud thump coming from the fireplace, which made her want to just curl up in bed and forget that tonight might be the night she died. But if it was the phantom, she knew she had to face her fate at some point. Feet first, she got out of the freezing cold bed and walked towards the fireplace. Terrified, she looks around to see if her apparitional assailant was anywhere nearby. Not seeing anything, the redhead walked closer to the fireplace and reached for a log. Upon inspecting the log, she noticed that it was so old that it wasn't brown - the normal color of wood. It was coal black…yet it was somehow almost shiny. Not thinking clearly, she put the log on the fire and fast-walked back to the bedroom. The exhausted girl collapsed back in bed, and adjusted herself so her flat stomach was once again contoured with Shaggy's back. And just like that, she was out like a light.

* * *

She wasn't sure what time it was. It could be seconds, minutes, hours from when she had originally fallen asleep. Knowing she had to use the outhouse, Daphne lifted herself out of bed and did a quick stretch before going to the door. Incredibly out-of-it, she opened the door not noticing her surroundings, until she saw the familiar glowing red pupils. It was the phantom. Unable to move once again, the phantom reached for her body, as Daphne remained paralyzed. As the phantom's bony arm was a few inches away from her arm, she hoped that she would once again wake up in bed, but to no avail. The phantom clutched her arm with its skeletal ligaments, putting a large, bright red scratch against her skin.

* * *

She was in bed once again. _Phew. It must have been a dream,_ She thought, until she looked down at her arm and saw the giant scratch intact, which left off at the same place she last remembered. Shaking her bedmate awake, she shouted "Shaggy! The phantom just scratched me!" As she spoke, the redhead realized she was still unable to elevate her vocals anywhere above a breathy whisper, due to an almost paralyzed state of fear.

"ZOINKS! We've gotta get out of this place!" Shaggy shouted, his voice still as animated and full of emotion as ever.

"We can't! Remember what the gas station cashier said? The roads are flooded until late morning."

"I'm making a run for it then!" Shaggy said, "I'm not waiting any longer to be killed in my sleep by some ghost!" Shaggy ran as fast as he could, but his line of vision suddenly was blurred and he ran into the front door and passed out.

* * *

After what felt like a few minutes later, Shaggy woke up from his unconscious state.

"Shaggy, are you okay?" Daphne said in a panicked voice, her voice returned to normal?

"Like yeah, Daph. I didn't see any ghosts this time!"

"Shaggy?" Daphne repeated, somehow apparently unable to hear him.

"Daph! Don't you see, I'm right here, talking!" Shaggy began to get nervous. Maybe her vision was somehow blurred too, like his had been a moment ago.

"Shaggy? Shaggy?!" her voice suddenly got dramatically deeper. "Shaaaaggggyyyy! Shaaaggggggyyy!" Suddenly, Daphne turned into the cloaked apparition and once again reached its arm towards Shaggy's face.

"Like MEGA ZOINKS!" Shaggy screamed, once again paralyzed in his tracks.

With a burst of energy, the terrifying specter that stood in front of him clawed diagonally across Shaggy's face, creating a giant scrape ranging from his left ear to the right side of his mouth.

* * *

In a flash, Shaggy woke up, coughing for air.

"Oh my god, Shaggy!" Daphne ran up to the green shirted man and hugged him tight. "Your face, it's got a huge scratch!"

"I know! That creepy crawler got me in my dream! How did I pass out?"

"You ran into that door somehow…I can't figure out how other than the billowing smoke." she immediately realized what she had just said. "Why is there so much smoke? I only put one log on the fire!"

Still disoriented, Shaggy hobbled over to the fireplace to see that the log Daphne put on, or at least the little bit that remained, was glowing.

"Like, that's no regular wood!"

"Do you think…" Daphne paused for a moment, with her still-breathy voice, "That wood is somehow related to the bad dreams?"

Shaggy looked at her, completely puzzled.

"Think about it. The bad dreams always started right after I put the wood on the fire. I couldn't sleep when it was cold, yet when I put the wood on the fire, you could barely stay upright you were so sleepy!"

"What does it matter? That ghost is still gonna murder us!"

"The wood I put on is almost burned down now. If we just stay awake until morning, maybe the ghost can't get us?"

"But…I'm almost falling asleep now!" Shaggy yawned.

"And that's where water comes in!" Daphne hypothesized in a split second. Rapidly, she grabbed a liter bottle of water in the fridge and guzzled the whole thing at once.

"Like, what's that gonna do?"

"If we have to pee, we won't be able to sleep. Now the water should take about a half an hour to get through our systems, we just have to try to stay awake for the half an hour and we'll be in the clear."

Shaggy and Daphne looked around at the nearly empty cabin, which only had a deck of cards and some old magazines.

"You know, we could just talk?" Daphne suggested.

"Can't talk. Drinking." Shaggy said, as he guzzled another liter-bottle of water from the fridge.

Shaggy pulled out an obviously worn folding chair from the dining room table. Daphne did the same, and look at Shaggy.

There was a long, awkward pause. Daphne was incredibly confused with herself, her and Shaggy had known each other forever and she considered him one of her best friends. They talked all the time. Why couldn't she think of anything to say to him?

Daphne was the one to break the silence. "So…how's…stuff?"

"Uh…like….good…I guess." Shaggy blurt out awkwardly.

* * *

10 more minutes passed of complete silence, until Shaggy considerately asked, "are you warm enough?"

"Not really." Daphne replied, rubbing her hands together to keep from freezing.

"How's the show?" Shaggy persisted.

"Good." Daphne said in a melancholy voice.

Daphne couldn't get a handle on herself. She felt incredibly confused about her feelings for her friend. She knew they were just friends, but something about the night and the cuddling made her want more. The redheaded girl couldn't imagine her and Shaggy being anything more than friends, but she felt an odd connection to him suddenly.

"Daph?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Scooby's sure sleeping through this, right?"

Admittedly, she had completely forgotten about Scooby. Sure enough, he was fast asleep, not even noticing what was going on.

"Yeah. Hey, it's almost sunrise!"

Looking out the window, the light brown haired young man saw his friend was right, sunrise.

"Hey, we did it!"

"Yeah…but….I gotta pee!" Daphne did something similar to a jogging dance, like the ones you see little kids do when they can no longer hold it.

Daphne jogged outside, putting her hands over her pants and ran into the outhouse.

Shaggy simply laughed, and packed up his suitcase. Just as he was nearly finished packing his few items, Daphne jogged back in the cabin.

"Still have to pee?" Shaggy said in surprise.

"No! It's freaking cold out!" Daphne replied bluntly. Shaggy looked down to see she was still wearing her fuzzy pajamas, which he hadn't even noticed her wearing the whole night, despite that they had been sleeping right next to each other.

"Well, let's get out of here then, shall we?" Shaggy asserted in an eager voice.

"Umm…the roads are still flooded. The cashier said late morning, remember. It's only 8."

"Oh man, you mean we've gotta spend a few more hours in this spook shack? What are we gonna do?"

"We could talk!" Daphne suggested cheerily once again.

Shaggy gave her a confused look. "Like, we tried that Daph. Nothing to talk about!"

"Oh, I think we can come up with something." Daphne smiled, and took a seat at the table with her friend.

* * *

And with that, the two friends reminisced about old times with the rest of the gang for nearly two hours, until Scooby got up.

"Rello!" Scooby said, excitedly as he wagged his tail.

"Ready to go, Scoob?" Shaggy asked his four-footed friend.

"Reah! Reah!" Scooby immediately took his bone suitcase out to Daphne's car.

Before Daphne and Shaggy followed Scooby out to the car with their luggage, Daphne looked at Shaggy and stated "that was a great talk, Shag!"

"Like yeah, I haven't thought about that in a long time!" Shaggy sighed, remembering what good of times he truly had with the rest of the gang.

"Come on Scooby, we've got a LOT to catch you up on!" Daphne said semi-happily. There was a hint of somberness in her voice, due to her distress from the night…and with Shaggy. She felt like a teenager again, completely confused about her feeling about boys. She didn't inherently want Shaggy to be any more than a friend, yet she wanted something more. She realized she had to put it behind her, and she began telling Scooby about their crazy adventure full of creepy skeletal phantoms and amusing pee-dances.

As Daphne shifted the vehicle into drive and zoomed away from the terrifying cabin she knew she would never return to, all that remained in the field was the whipping winds and the shadows of the gnarly oak trees. The wind shifted the oak, and suddenly, the oak's shadow became one with another…the shadow of the cloaked phantom, which watched with its gleaming red eyes and pointed menacingly with its bony arm as the threesome's car pulled away onto the main road.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Now as some of you may have seen, this fanfiction is rated T though it hadn't previously had anything that would have stopped it from being rated K or K+. So did I rate it that then? Zombie Island is very creepy and I wanted this story to be as dark, if not darker, than Zombie Island was. With my first four chapters, it hasn't really gotten to that point of darkness, but I think you can agree this chapter was pretty dark! A creepy, no-faced phantom with skeletal arms and glowing eyes paralyzing and attacking you in your sleep plus they're in an isolated cabin in the woods, where no one can hear them? If that's not dark, I don't know what is! And the crazy thing is it wasn't supposed to be that dark! From a writing standpoint, this was a chapter of experimentation. I could have made it not as dark, but what if I did make it darker? What if the characters actually feared for their life? I don't want metaphorically pat myself on the back, but when I re-read the finished product, it was awesome how dark the chapter got. Heck, I creeped myself out in a couple of the scenes, especially the one where the phantom scratched Shaggy. I'll admit when I first thought up the scene (which was basically as I wrote it), there was going to be a bit of blood. But I had to stop myself there as I felt it went little too dark for Scooby. However, know I'm still getting my footing here, as the characters went in totally new, amazing directions in this chapter. Admittedly, I'm super excited with the seemingly endless possibilities of where the story will go from here. As the series goes on, it is certainly possible that the series will get dark and continue to push its old boundaries.

The second thing that is really cool for me as a writer is when you find your own writing cute. There were two scenes that particularly come to mind with this, the first being the scene with Scooby saying "Ri like camping too!" It was so cute because I could totally imagine Scooby saying it, plus it's amusing in a cute way that Scooby was trying to sway Daphne into letting him go.

Now the second scene ties into the last thing I want to talk about here. I'll be completely honest here and say I'm totally unsure what people will think of this, I could see anything from "Eww!" to "Aww!" (I hope it's the second option!) The scene I'm talking about is of course the Shaphne (Shaggy/Daphne) part. You may not believe me here after what I just wrote, but I have honestly never been a fan of the Shaggy-Daphne relationship, in fact I'm far more fond of Fraphne (Fred/Daphne). Until now, that is. Full disclosure here, this scene was not supposed to happen at all. The original plan was to have Shaggy hit his head and become unconscious when he fell on the floor trying to give Daphne room, which would have taken the place of Shaggy hitting his head on the door. But, I thought, what if Shaggy and Daphne had to sleep in the same bed right next to each other? And so it went, the characters once again wrote themselves and Daphne found herself getting cuddly with Shaggy. And in my opinion, it was perfect. You'll just have to wait and see if the relationship continues and Daphne sorts her feelings out, but a little hint I love what I wrote there so you'll *probably* see it play out in some way or another, even if they don't necessarily date. Though when I wrote the scene Daphne liking the warmth of cuddling Shaggy, my first thought on coming up with that part was "Awww, I'm adorable!" lol.

Well, I hope you loved this chapter as much as I did writing it (I had a lot of fun writing this one!), and look for chapter 6, which is coming hopefully soon!


	6. Show Stopper

**Author's note:**

So before you start reading I have a few things I want to mention for this one.

First of all, my apologies for how long this one took to get out. I've had about half of this written for a while and then life got busy, so I was unable to finish the chapter when I wanted to. On that point however, you may want to give chapter 5 a quick skim again as well if you feel like you don't remember what happened. A few little things (such as Fred falling for the email scam, the Shaggy/Daphne moment) from the last chapter come up again, so I would recommend maybe giving the previous chapter a quick reread if you don't remember either of those things.

Full disclosure here and this is not really a spoiler, this chapter is nowhere as creepy as the previous one, but it is necessary for the overarching plot I'm developing for the story. However, I think this is still a really good, solid chapter with a great mystery and some really cute moments.

So without further ado here's chapter six of Coast to Coast!

* * *

Daphne had finally returned to work two days after her trip to Twilight Cabin. Sure, she could have returned yesterday, but she was frankly far too tired and moody to even think about working. Despite the resistance the prior day of working, she felt comforted using mental labor as a distraction from the trip. A lot had happened that she didn't understand on that trip, and admittedly putting off having to process her thoughts felt amazing.

Suddenly, the redhead heard a familiar voice coming from behind her.

"Daph? You're back!" Fred called to her.

"Hey...Fred…" Daphne said awkwardly. She had to scramble to think of something to say. "How's Prince Rahman?"

"Oh yeah, I never told you. My computer crashed yesterday, so I can't contact him! The IT guys said my email account infected my computer with a virus somehow!" Fred replied.

"Gee, I wonder how?" Daphne sarcastically fired back.

"Yeah, weird how these things happen, isn't it?" Fred obliviously stated. "Prince Rahman is going to be so disappointed in me!"

Daphne just rolled her eyes, in disbelief on how Fred could be so stupid.

Fred quickly changed the subject. "How's production going?"

Overjoyed that the subject had changed from the fictional African prince, Daphne delightedly responded. "Oh, it's going good. I'm actually going to shoot the opening teaser for my next episode in a few minutes."

"You need someone to tease for that? I hear Nick's a real pushover!" Fred chuckled obliviously.

"Fred, you know what a teaser is, right?"

"Uhhh…" Fred's cheeks suddenly turned bright red. "I'm gonna go see if my computer is fixed!"

Daphne rolled her eyes again, as she caught Nick walking by her office out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, Nick!" Daphne waved her hand to get his attention.

"Daph, you ready to film the teaser?" Nick inquired.

"Yep. Just let me get my coat!"

* * *

The set looked as beautiful and spotless as ever, with an interview podium neatly tucked against the green screen in which skyscrapers were currently projected. Above them, there was a large projector.

"Ready to roll?" Nick asked.

Daphne nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay, 3, 2, 1!" Nick motioned his hands to show it was go-time.

Daphne adjusted her voice level from casual to professional and mature-sounding. "Hi. This is Daphne Blake from Coast to Coast, and we've got another exciting show for you this week!"

Suddenly, she heard Nick sharply tell her "Move!"

"Am I standing too close to the screen or…" Daphne asked, confused as to why he was being so urgent with her.

"Just move, fast!"

Daphne did as he requested and jogged towards him. Suddenly, she felt her heart stop as a spotlight crashed to the ground. Speechless, her heart continued pounding and her breathing got heavy.

"That...was...close." Daphne gasped in between breaths. "Good thing you saw it. Otherwise we could have had a real bad accident on our hands."

"I don't think it was an accident." Nick pointed rapidly at the green screen, which had now morphed from a skyscraper image to a projected note. "Watch your back, or this show may be your last. Signed, The Phantom."

Daphne continued gasping for air, replaying the image in her head of how close she was to near-death.

"You know someone who'd want to do you harm, Daph?"

Daphne remained quiet, trying to think of anyone she had pissed off. She felt like she was generally well-liked among all the people she worked with for the most part, and certainly couldn't think of anyone who'd want to kill her. In a flash, she saw a mental image of the arm. That same bony arm which nearly killed her, Shaggy, and Scooby up at Twilight Cabin. Maybe it followed her back to finish the job. Once and for all.

Daphne was so panicked at the thought that she hadn't realized she was zoning out. She came back to reality noticing a hand waving in front of her face, which she immediately slapped.

"Oww! What was that for?" Nick scoffed at her.

Though not zoning out, Daphne just responded with a blank face.

"I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall! How we feeling Daph?" Nick attempted to get a response one final time.

"Scared and cranky." Daphne stated bluntly.

"The perfect combination!" Nick fired back in a sarcastic manner.

* * *

Daphne had returned to her office without finishing the scene, only causing her thoughts to swirl even more. She wanted to feel comforted and safe somehow, though she felt she had no one to do it with. Velma was mad at her, Fred's idiocy seemed to grow by the day, and Shaggy...well, she didn't even know how she felt about Shaggy. Her mind flashed back to that night in bed - _no, Daphne, don't call it that!_ , she admonished herself - when she felt comfort in his warmth. When she felt like he could be the last thing she saw before she died at the hands of a bony-fingered assailant. When she just wanted to cuddle him and never stop. But, she reminded herself, she didn't truly know how she felt about him. It could have been just a scared-out-of-her-mind instinct. And she couldn't simply just go over to Shaggy's house and say "Hey Shaggy, let's cuddle to see if I feel anything!" Ugh, it was her teenage years all over again. Confused about her new feelings and whether she liked certain boys and…

Daphne pulled herself out of the endless cycle that was her attempted processing. Word had apparently gotten around about the so-called "accident" and everyone had treated her especially nice throughout the day. Gotten her coffee, given her a soft blanket to snuggle up under, and pretty much told her she could leave if she wanted. _That's your problem, Daphne, you never know what you want!_ She admonished herself once again.

All of a sudden, she heard a knock at her door. She looked up to see Nick's serious face.

"Hey, look, sorry about earlier…" Daphne apologized, as she did truly feel bad for punching her production assistant.

"No problem. Now let's go out looking."

"Looking for what?"

"For the guy."

"What guy?"

"Don't be challenging with me Daph, the guy who nearly killed you."

"You know it could be a girl! Stop perpetuating the societal gender norms!" Daphne replied half-jokingly, though mainly just trying to get Nick off her case.

Nick ignored her sarcastic comment. "Daphne Blake! Are you telling me you'd rather sit under a blanket in danger than find who tried to kill you?"

"I'm not in danger! This blanket is soft and comfortable! I don't own any knife-blankets."

"Man, you are challenging when you're in a bad mood! You know, the PERSON" - Nick made sure to accentuate the word 'person' as Daphne had made the sexism joke earlier - "could try again. Now are you coming or staying?"

Daphne realized that he made a good point and she should go and find whoever - or whatever - tried to harm her. She finally responded "Fine, but give me one last moment alone with the blanket!"

Nick walked outside her office, awaiting Daphne's departure.

After a minute had easily passed, Nick looked back into her office to see Daphne holding the blanket up to her ear.

"You hang up first." Daphne said, trying to refrain from laughing.

"No, you hang up!"

Nick rolled his eyes at her difficultness.

"No, you hang up!" She said in a strict voice, as if she actually believed the blanket was disobeying her.

"If you don't get out here right now, you won't have to worry about whoever tried to hurt you. Because I'll kill you first!" Nick said in one final attempt to get her out.

"Fine! Someone can't take a joke." Daphne huffed as she walked out.

Quickly, as Nick's back was turned, Daphne ran back into her office and held the blanket up to her ear once again.

"Aww, you're still there! I just know we're going to be together forever!"

Angrily, Nick ripped the blanket out of her hands, and said "You know, blankets can be weapons too! Easier to choke you with!"

"Alright, I'll go! So pushy." Daphne said in a frustrated tone.

* * *

Nick led Daphne into his office.

"Why are we looking in here?" Daphne asked curiously.

"So we can have an adult conversation without you talking to your blanket!" Nick said, nearly at his wit's end.

"Don't make fun of Bea!" Daphne said in a sort of playfully defensive way,

Nick just looked confused, unsure of what she meant. "Who's Bea?"

"My blanket? Bea. Get it? 'Cause it's like the "B" in blanket?"

"You seriously named your damn blanket?"

Daphne tried to inconspicuously change the subject, realizing her playful stubbornness had become a bit mean. "What do you want to talk about?

"Well, who has access to the projections on that green screen?"

"Anyone who's in crew. The projection booth's upstairs on the second floor."

"Well, that sure helps us! Not." Nick snarkily responded.

"NOW who's being sarcastic?"

"Fine, do you know where the surveillance footage is?"

"Up in security. We should pay them a visit. They probably already know what happened."

* * *

The red hair on her head blew in the drafty hallway in which the air conditioning was on full-blast.

"How do they stand working up here?" Daphne asked.

"Maybe Bea keeps them company too?" Nick attempted to make a joke of his own.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Daphne rolled her eyes, clearly unamused at his poor blanket joke.

Daphne knocked on the open security guard's door as a courtesy.

"Oh, Daphne and Nick. Come in!" The security guard smiled.

"Hi. We're looking for the security footage from the projection room on the second floor, from 10:50am today." Daphne requested.

"Sure, let me just pull it up here, and I'll step out so you two can watch it." The security guard quick typed in his password and pulled up the footage in a matter of minutes. "Hope you find something!"

"This should be easy, honestly." Daphne said. "There was obviously someone in the projection room, once we watch the footage we'll know who it is."

Daphne pressed the play button on the guard's computer and intently watched.

The room was strangely empty, until in a flash, a man covered in a white sheet with a ridiculously large drawn-on eyes and a large Sharpie marker frown.

"Oh god!" Nick gasped, "It's the invasion of the sheet-ghosts! What the hell are we going to do now?" Nick laughed, confirming his sarcasm.

Daphne paused for a second and watched the "ghost" take a large screwdriver and unscrew the bolts that held the spotlight in.

"Wait…I think I know…"

Nick interrupted her before she finished. "You know that that's the most pathetic ghost costume I've ever seen? I made a better ghost costume when I was 10!"

"No. That guy was supposed to be on my show today!"

"Lord help us all. You were actually going to PAY that guy to be a moron?"

"No, listen. My special guest today, as a joke, was going to be a guy in a cheesy ghost costume. It was one of the crew members! Daniel Smith!"

"Let's go pay your old friend Daniel a visit then." Nick said, his voice full of apathy and coldness.

* * *

Daphne and Nick stormed into Daniel's office in a huff.

"Daniel? Why the hell would you try to kill Daphne?" Nick shouted.

"Kill her? Man, I didn't even get in until 11 today. I got majorly sick last night, bro."

"Oh yeah, "majorly" sick enough to dress up as a ghost and try to kill me?" Daphne defended herself.

"Dude, get off my case! Seriously, man, check the security footage. I got in, like, a couple of minutes before 11."

Daniel was about to fire something else back, when Daphne tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to leave.

"Sorry to bother you, Daniel. We'll check the footage."

After they were safely out of Daniel's office, Daphne spoke up and said "Nick, let's just check the security footage. If he actually was at the front studio gates a few minutes before 11, there's no way he could have been in the projection booth at the same time."

"I guess you're right, Daph. Let's just check it and move on."

* * *

After they returned to the security footage room, the duo checked the footage and found that Daniel had indeed been outside the entrance at 10:52am, meaning there was no way he could have been in there, dressed as that cheesy ghost.

"Wait, if Daniel wasn't in the studio, how did that other person get Daniel's ghost costume?" Nick asked.

"I don't know. Let's see if Daniel knows." Daphne replied, as she motioned for Nick to come along.

* * *

Upon their return to Daniel's office, they noticed a loud guitar solo blasting out of the office door.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Daphne puzzledly questioned.

"Ahh man! You caught me! I'm tryna bring my jams up to the next level! So I'm watchin' these Guitar Hero videos. You know, jammin' out, man!" Daniel oddly began positioning his right hand as if he were playing a guitar, strumming the air as hard as he could. Daniel paused for a moment. "Why you back here anyway? I told you, I wasn't in my office til 11!"

"Yeah, we saw. But someone was in your office, since I doubt someone wanted to replicate your cheesy ghost costume." Daphne said apathetically.

"Ah man, I forgot about that! Yeah, I don't know what happened to that costume. I always keep my office locked if I'm not here, and nobody has the keys but me. It's just gone into thin air!"

Nick looked as if he was about to blow a circuit with Daniel's lack of awareness, so Daphne motioned for them to leave again.

"That'll be all, Daniel. Enjoy your guitar!"

"Ah thanks Daph! You da man! I mean...wo-man."

Daphne gave a fake smile, and shut Daniel's door.

"We can check the security cameras around Daniel's office. Then we'll question anyone who came in or out." Daphne suggested to Nick.

"Yeah, better than talking to the rocker wannabe in there." Nick said, as the both of them could still hear the loud guitar riff in Daniel's office.

* * *

A few hours later, both of them had checked every security camera up and down, and no sign of anyone going in or out besides the janitor doing routine maintenance.

"Now are you SURE the janitor didn't do it?" Nick asked.

"Yes, I'm sure! He leaves in a matter of seconds, and the door is open the whole time. He just takes the old trash bag and dumps it out, then puts a new trash liner on it." Daphne reaffirmed.

Daphne replayed the scene to prove it, and Nick watched again to make sure his partner-in-mystery's intuition was correct.

"Wait, what is he doing there? Pause it." Nick instructed.

"Nothing, I told you."

"No, look."

Daphne zoomed in on the frame to see him picking up a piece of trash and placing it in the bin. The janitor then walked out and dumped the trash in a larger bin, though with his hand in an odd position.

"Why is he putting his hand in the garbage?" Daphne said, slightly shocked as to why someone would ever want to do such a thing. "Rewind it."

Nick did as he was told and rewinded the video to the scene in which the janitor picked up the piece of trash. Out of curiosity, he attempted to zoom in more on the figure. Then, both of them saw it: the black spot.

"An oversized spot perfectly eye-shaped like that could only mean one thing." Daphne realized, "I think we're going to have to talk to security again, my friend."

Nick dialed the number quickly and told the security guard of what they had found.

* * *

The next morning _,_ Nick walked into Daphne's office as he had the previous day.

"How's it going, Daph?"

"Oh, fine I suppose." Daphne said, acting quite antisocial.

"Just _fine_? Didn't you hear they arrested that janitor? He was a new hire who apparently had it out for your show." Nick said, in a surprised manner.

"Well, let's see, my friend Velma hates me, I nearly got killed in my job yesterday, and…" Daphne left out the part about her newfound teenager-like angst about her feelings for Shaggy. "This isn't the end."

"Well, could you make it any less ominous, fortune teller?" Nick joked.

"Think about it. Two guys, both new hires, have it out for me within a month? First that creepy security guard, John Barnes, and now the janitor? That's not a coincidence. Someone here has it out for me personally."

"And how do you figure that? Someone's recommending all their sociopathic friends come work here with the extra bonus of getting a fresh kill?"

Daphne's face puckered up in disgust. "Fresh kill" sounded like whoever it was thought she was an innocent deer waiting to be slaughtered. "No! I think it's someone higher up."

"What are you going to do?" Nick questioned.

"I'm going to walk around and ask everyone 'Hey, do you want to kill me?'" Daphne rearranged her face to make it look stupid, "Duh! I'm going to do the only thing I can do. Do my job and do some investigating on the side. It'll be like old times."

"No! That's the easiest way to get killed! Just tell someone, like the studio president or something. He'll make sure you're protected." Nick pleaded.

"No, this is my issue, I'll take care of it on my own. I don't know who to trust anymore higher up. This could be some big conspiracy against me for all we know."

"Agh, you're so stubborn sometimes! I'll never understand you."

"Aww, that's too bad, 'cause Bea does!" the redhead jokingly grabbed her blanket and held it up to her ear again. "What's that?" She paused for a moment as if she were listening to what the blanket had to say. "Aww, I love you too Bea!"

Nick rolled his eyes as Daphne playfully rubbed her face on the blanket. "You know, that's not even your blanket. It's your boss's blanket, he'll be pissed if you don't return it."

"No!" Daphne said firmly, yet still a hint of playfulness in her voice. "I'm keeping her. We've made a connection!"

Nick realized he couldn't reason with her ridiculous game and walked off.

* * *

Despite that Daphne was completely being silly, the blanket actually had brought her a bit of comfort. After a bit of thought, she decided to not bring the blanket back to her boss and keep it for herself.

She knew she shouldn't, yet she did. Going up to Velma's bookstore door and apologizing wasn't exactly her idea of fun, but it had to be done. Honestly, she felt like Velma was overreacting a bit. Maybe she was slightly selfish, but Velma should contact her more often. It's no wonder Daphne was so focused on work when her four best friends had essentially abandoned her. Daphne's thought process caused her to stop and think for a moment. Did she really feel resentful of the four people she had felt were as close as any friends could be? _Ugh, feelings are confusing!_ Daphne lamented.

Daphne knocked on the wooden door of Velma's bookstore, and waited for a few moments before it opened.

"What do _you_ want?" Velma scoffed.

"I just want to say, I'm really sorry. I was selfish and used you to further my show. That was wrong." Daphne tried to sound sincere, yet she still held a little frustration at her friend's stubbornness.

"Did you read that off the back of a box of Boo Berry?" Velma said dryly.

"Ooh, nice burn, sister!" called a voice from the back of Velma's bookstore.

"Who is that?" Daphne asked.

"That's my new friend."

Velma's friend walked forward. Her hair was messy with a few stray hairpins in it. She wore a red ascot, which Daphne thought was sooo 1969. On her face were several freckles, and a pair of glasses resting on her nose.

"I'd like you to meet Marcie." Velma presented her friend.

"Obliged to meet you." Marcie shook her hand.

Daphne knew she was being slightly immature, but she didn't care. To present a new friend like she was Daphne's replacement was not cool.

"You know, I can get a new friend too! I'll replace you and forget you ever existed!" Daphne stormed off in a huff and got in her car.

"What's her problem?" Marcie asked.

"She's off carbs. Plus I made her angry, but screw her. Let's go play that fun new video game you got."

"Yeah! The Dark Lilith's empire will never stand a chance against the two of us!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Nick watched someone he had never seen before sit down on the wooden bench next to Daphne's boss's office. He was a burly man, with large brown eyes and blond hair.

"Oh, hey, are you the new production assistant?" Nick asked, attempting to make small talk.

"Yup." the man said, bluntly.

"Are you nervous about the interview?" Nick responded again, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Nope." the man said, acting quite relaxed.

Nick could clearly tell this man did not want to talk, so he let him be. "Okay, good luck with the interview!"

"Yup." the man simply stated.

Nick walked back to his office, not thinking much about the man's strange behavior.

The large man walked into his potential new employer's office, and sat down in the chair across from his interviewer.

"You know why you're here?" the boss asked him.

"Yup." the man blatantly replied.

"No questions before I start talking?"

"Nope." the man said in his deep voice.

"Okay, listen up then. My last two guys have failed, but I want rid of that Blake girl once and for all. Either she quits this job or she dies." Daphne's boss ominously told him.

"Yup." the man repeated.

"After my second guy failed today with the spotlight, I gave her a blanket with a mini tracking device hidden inside it. It's too messy to try again at the studio now, people will be suspicious. Track her to her house and do as you see fit."

"Yup."

"Good. I've tried again and again now. First I tried to cancel her show, then I got that security guard, and the janitor, and they all failed! I will not accept any more failure. That Blake girl needs to be gone."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Now last chapter, which was absolutely amazing to write, was far different from this one, but as I said I think it really had some necessary plot development to move forward with both the characters and the story. I hope no one was disappointed with the lack of real supernatural creature, but know that this is an odd chapter in the sense that I'm planning those going forward to be a lot spookier.

I have a lot I want to say on this chapter again, but first we've gotta do reference time!

So first I should probably start with the huge reference which was Velma's friend Marcie. Before you ask, yes, it is the same Marcie in which appeared in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and yes, there will be a bigger plot development with her.

Daphne thinking Marcie's ascot was from 1969 is obviously a reference to when the show first aired.

The Dark Lilith's empire is a reference to Marcie's Lilith disguise in "Night on Haunted Mountain" from SDMI.

I realize the "She's off carbs" line is a very obscure reference, but it was a reference to "A Scooby-Doo Valentine" in which Shaggy makes a comment about how Scooby is angry because "he's off carbs." I always found that line particularly oddly placed and random, and it randomly came to mind when Marcie was asking Velma for an explanation of why Daphne was so angry, so I thought what the heck, why not include that?

As I said, a lot of things I want to say about this chapter, but I'll try to keep it to a few main things!

One of my favorite parts of writing this chapter was Fred. Admittedly I found the whole email scam thing quite amusing so I decided to extend it a bit into this episode. Hopefully no one is annoyed with me making Fred a bit dimwitted, but I think it works well for this fanfiction personally.

And then there's "Did you read that off the back of a box of Boo Berry?" Now don't ask me where that came from because it just randomly popped in my mind as I was quick trying to think of a good insult. I haven't eaten Boo Berry (for those who don't know it's a type of cereal) in years, so I have no idea why I suddenly thought of it now!

Probably the funnest part of this chapter was Daphne's sarcasm. Hopefully other authors will identify with "feeling" their character's emotions a bit as they're writing, so it was fun to get a break from angsty, emotional Daphne and have her be silly and let loose for a bit.

Oh and we have to talk about Bea! This is another example (as I highlighted in last chapter's author's notes) of a totally unplanned thing which I was not going to include originally that ended up being really cute. The original plan was to have the tracker placed on Daphne's purse, but the whole blanket silliness developed in the midst of the sarcasm and I decided to give the blanket a bigger role so to speak which turned into "Bea." Hopefully you found it as cute as I did writing it!

So I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Honestly, I'm enjoying the adventure of writing it and seeing where the characters take the story myself, as I have no idea where the story is going to go! For those of you who suggested I include Shaggy and Scooby more, now hopefully you see why I haven't. Part of the overarching story arch is the dilemma that Daphne finds herself in, where she feels she is distant and maybe even resentful of the gang leaving her behind. I can't say what she feels because, at this point in the story, SHE doesn't even know how she feels yet!

A quick note as well, Daniel Smith, whom Daphne and Nick accused of trying to drop the spotlight on Daphne, was originally named Daniel Sim, but I changed the name due to the unintentional closeness of the name to a different character who appears a few chapters later.

I don't want to guarantee a time, even an approximate one, for when the next chapter will be out, since the last one was intended to be out by the beginning of March, and that obviously never happened. So all I'll say is stay tuned to see what happens with Daphne's apparently evil boss, Velma's new friend Marcie, and of course, Bea! :)


	7. Mystery Weekend

She thought she was irreplaceable.

That is, until Velma introduced her "replacement" friend. She had never felt so used in her whole life.

Though she didn't actually believe it would help, Daphne felt the need to wake herself up out of the mopey stupor she was currently in with a hot cup of coffee. The redheaded girl lifted herself out of her chair making a groaning sound, like she had to lift up the weight of the world on her shoulders. A few people said hi to her in the studio hallway, she really didn't care though. She was lost in her mind, thinking about friends and acquaintances past, stuck on the idea that she truly had no one to confide in anymore. She had wrapped herself up so much in the world of mystery solving and fake supernatural creatures that she had closed her mind to other potential comrades. She felt more alone than she had ever felt before.

Still feeling sorry for herself, Daphne poured herself a cup of steaming fresh-brewed coffee, when a girl about her age caught her eye. The young female had long blonde hair, and was wearing jeans and a purple t-shirt with the studio logo on it. She felt she knew most people who worked at the studio, though the identity of this woman befuddled her.

Daphne suddenly realized she had been staring as the blonde looked at her in a strange manner.

"Do I know you?" the female asked.

"Uhh...I don't think so." Daphne said.

"Hey, aren't you the star of that supernatural show, Coast to Coast?" the blonde began nervously twirling a strand of her hair, as if she were talking to someone of authority.

"Yep, that's me! The one and only Daphne Blake of Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake."

"Hey, that's cool!" the girl replied chipperly. "You know, I love your show. Especially the one about that bony-armed phantom."

The thought of her experience at Twilight Cabin made her shiver. That was a night she wanted to forget. "Thanks." Daphne frankly replied.

"You know, I'm starting an interview show as well," the girl informed. "Maybe we could talk over dinner sometime?"

"Sure. Are you available tomorrow night?" Daphne inquired.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" the female's voice elevated in tone as she got seemingly excited.

"It's a date then. I didn't catch your name, though."

"It's Isabel." the blonde looked at her watch and rapidly began walking in the other direction, while still facing Daphne. "Gotta go, I'm late for a meeting! See you tomorrow!" Her voice squeaked as it got higher.

 _Hmmm_ , Daphne thought, _Maybe this day won't be so bad after all_.

* * *

Unconsciously, Daphne began having dreams about her previous friends. Over and over, she tortured herself remembering the bookstore incident with Velma, and Velma's new friend, Marcie.

 _Marcie?_ , she thought, _What a stupid name._

She replaced the image of Marcie in her head with the image of a blonde-haired face that was Isabel. She repeated the name over and over in her head, reminding herself that this was her new friend, and none of her previous friends mattered anymore. Except maybe Shaggy. The tenderness she felt with his body against hers, his hair brushing up against the back of her neck, how soft he was, how warm he was… the fact that she never wanted to get up from his warmth.

Striking a sensitive memory, Daphne immediately pushed the image out of her mind, and replaced it with the pretty blonde who was going to meet her tomorrow night. Eventually, Daphne drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

It was 4:57pm, and Daphne was ready to be done with work. She had exhausted herself with both work and thinking. Just as Daphne was about to completely check out, Daphne heard a voice.

"Hey buddy, ready for dinner tonight? I'm _starving_!" Isabel put emphasis on "starving" which sounded drawn-out yet cute.

"Hi!" Daphne instantly became excited, "just let me get my coat first."

The blonde twirled a strand of her hair as she waited for Daphne to put on her jacket. Suddenly, she looked up and saw the design of her acquaintance's coat.

"Oh-my-gosh, that jacket is like, so cute!" Isabel's voice got higher once again as she perked up, which Daphne found quite adorable. "Where did you get it?"

"I got it at Menkle's a few weeks ago. I love it!" her perky friend made the redhead excited as well.

"Well, like, you totally should. You look so fancy in it!" Isabel's voice squeaked at the end of her sentence, as if she couldn't help herself from raising her voice.

All of a sudden, Daphne heard a loud growling noise. As the perky blonde spoke up, she realized the noise was coming from Isabel.

"Ah, that's the stomach alarm! I didn't eat anything for lunch today, so I'm like, so hungry!"

"Let's get going then!" Daphne smiled, trying to stay as cheery as her friend.

The two women began walking out of Daphne's office when Nick stopped Daphne, who was leading the way.

"Hey, Daph, got a letter for you." Nick said, before he spun around to notice Daphne was not alone. "Oh, you've got a little follower there I see."

Daphne turned around to notice Isabel let out a small giggle, as if she wasn't used to having friends either.

"I'll leave you two alone then." Nick continued.

Daphne quick tore open the letter to see "MYSTERY WEEKEND" written in all caps on an otherwise white piece of paper. She began reading it aloud.

"You have been cordially invited to Mystery Weekend at Cerrie Mansion. Each invitee is allowed to bring one friend along, free of charge." Daphne looked down to see two bullet points, which highlighted various aspects of the festivities. "Food and drinks provided. Must stay entire weekend."

"Ooh!" Isabel chirped, "I love mysteries! So fun and spooky!"

Daphne thought for a moment before replying, wondering to herself if her blonde companion would find it awkward to be invited to the Mystery Weekend so quickly after they had met. But after all, who else was Daphne going to bring? Daphne decided to be silent for now, though she admired her friend's chipperness about everything. She could really use an optimistic person in her life right now.

* * *

As the two females arrived at the restaurant, they found a cozy place to sit. The restaurant was well lighted and was painted a light shade of red. The place was quite busy for a Tuesday night, though Daphne assumed it was simply the fact that people didn't want to cook after a long day of work.

As the friends sat down in a booth and the waitress took their beverage orders, Daphne struggled to think of things to say to this person. They barely knew each other, after all.

"So...have you worked at the studio long?" Daphne inquired.

"Nope, just started. I recently moved here from California." the blonde responded.

"Oh, well, how was California?" Daphne felt inspired by the direction of the conversation.

"I'm glad to get away from there, honestly. All my friends stopped talking to me and I didn't feel like I belonged there anymore."

Daphne had to give Isabel credit, as her voice even sounded happy as she was revealing a quite sad thing.

"I'm really sorry to hear that," Daphne sympathized. "I've been going through that with my friends recently, too."

The other girl simply looked up with an interested gaze rather than responding, as if she wanted more information.

"My friend Velma and I used to be really close. Now she says all I care about is my show, yet _she's_ the one who immediately replaces me with another friend! I try to ask her to explain and have us talk things out, but she refuses." Daphne realized not everything she was saying was 100% true, but she was enjoying the bonding moment. She considered revealing more about her background with the gang, but she wasn't sure how to word it. 'I go around in a van solving mysteries and ripping masks off of people?' It just didn't sound right. She decided to inquire more about her friend before she went further into the story.

"What about you, you said your friends stop talking to you?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah, they kinda turned into dicks."

Isabel's swearing took Daphne aback, as she didn't take her for the kind of person who swore. The blonde quickly resumed speaking.

"I wanted to go into TV, you know, be a big time TV host and all that. I originally went to college to be a journalist, but I really wasn't into that anymore. My friends told me I was wasting my life and I need to just suck it up and do what I spent four years studying. But, you know, I have like, my own life and I just want to do what makes me happy. It's not their identity, it's mine."

Daphne was intrigued by Isabel's story, as it really wasn't all that different from her's. She wanted to be in TV, and Velma tried to convince her she needed to stop caring about her show.

Isabel continued.

"We don't talk that much anymore. I just kinda told them off."

"What did you say to them?"

"A tuna melt on sourdough."

Daphne looked up in shock to see that the waitress was here taking their orders. She had been so caught up in the good conversation she hadn't even bothered to look at the menu.

"Umm...I'll have what she's having." Daphne quickly said to avoid making the waitress idly wait.

Isabel held her hand up to her heart and made a "that's-so-adorable" face. "Awww, twinsies!"

Daphne simply laughed at her friend's somewhat amusing comment.

"So, what about your other friends?" the blonde asked. "Surely you had more than one!"

"Yeah, Fred and Shaggy."

"Shaggy?"

"Yep, that's his name. Well, not really, it's actually Norville, but everyone calls him Shaggy."

Isabel put her hand up to her heart once again and made a duplicate face to her previous one.

"So, what happened between you guys?"

Daphne almost bluntly stated 'cuddling' but she thought better of it.

"We just drifted apart. I guess we weren't sure exactly how we fit as friends."

Despite the semi-untruthfulness of the comment, Daphne hadn't totally lied. She honestly wasn't sure what she thought of Shaggy as right now.

"And Fred?" her friend kept digging deeper into her past.

"Oh, he works at the studio, actually. He's my cameraman." Daphne didn't want to reveal everything to this girl she barely knew. She figured short-and-sweet was best for now.

"Oh-my-gosh, Fred Jones? That dumb guy buying all the chimps?"

Daphne nearly spit the water she was drinking out of her mouth.

"What?"

"Yeah, when he welcomed me to the studio he told me he was going to buy a dozen chimps to help him out in the office doing paperwork. He asked me if I wanted one, too."

"Yup, that's Fred." Daphne confirmed, as she tried not to laugh.

* * *

The two friends continued bonding throughout the night about aspects of their lives. They found they both liked fashion, enjoyed similar kinds of music and bonded over their lack of friends. Daphne could have done without hearing about Isabel's daddy issues, but nonetheless she was happy for the good conversation.

As both girls finished their meals, Daphne began wrapping up the conversation with her newfound friend.

"Isabel, it was super nice meeting you. You and I have so much alike!"

"Yeah, it was so nice meeting you too Daphne!"

All of a sudden, a letter fell out of Daphne's pocket.

"Oh shoot, let me pick that up for you." Isabel offered.

"No, it's alright." Daphne got up and picked up the letter herself. "It's just that letter for the Mystery Weekend."

"Oh yeah, did you decide who you're taking to that?"

"Well...um...I was going to actually ask you. I didn't want to be awkward." Daphne confessed.

"Oh, no, that's not awkward! I'd love to go with you!" the blonde responded.

"Cool!" Daphne was overloaded with a sensation of happiness. "It's this weekend, so let's meet again at my office at 5, Friday night."

"Sure! I'm looking so forward to this!" Isabel eagerly responded, her voice squeaking again when she attempted to inflect the word "so".

Daphne put out her credit card to pay the bill while waving goodbye to the perky blonde.

 _You made a new friend today._ Daphne let the thought wash over her for a moment. _Good job,_ she complimented herself.

* * *

Friday couldn't have come any faster.

It felt like she blinked, and the clock had sped up to 4:53pm on Friday afternoon. In less than 10 minutes, Isabel was coming to meet her for the mystery weekend getaway. Last time she had traveled with another girl was with Velma, and that had been alright, she supposed. She remembered her uncontrollable laughing fit in the car, the fright they had felt while alone in the mansion with a phantom, and most importantly, their fight at the bookstore a few weeks afterwards. Daphne tried to remove the thought from her mind, but it lingered, until she looked up for a second and realized another three-and-a-half minutes had passed with her perseverating on the same topic.

She let another three minutes pass by, remembering the good old days with the gang, until the blonde appeared at her door and subsequently knocked on it.

Daphne left her thoughts behind and tried to focus on what was current.

"Hey Daphne!" Isabel said, appearing to be her normal perky self.

"You ready for a weekend of fun?" the redhead replied, though she didn't feel excited as her tone reflected at all.

"I was born ready!" her friend replied, with a light giggle.

"Do we need to stop at your house, or…" Daphne was interrupted by Isabel before she could finish.

"Nope, already have everything I need packed!"

"So do I." Daphne's cheerful charade faded.

"Something wrong?" Isabel tilted her head a bit sideways, to show concern.

"Uh…" Daphne had to think for a moment. "No, no, let's get going."

"Aww, thank you so much for inviting me! This is gonna be an awesome weekend!" As soon as the last syllable dropped, the bubbly blonde extended her arms and hugged Daphne, which she wasn't expecting at all.

She felt embarrassed, but she must have had a strange look on her face.

"What?" Isabel chimed in. "I hug all my friends!"

"Oh...yes...of course." Daphne replied, in a scatterbrained voice. "Let's get going. We don't want to be late."

With a hop in her step, Isabel fast-walked towards the door and started down the hallway before Daphne was even fully out of the office. _This is going to be a long weekend,_ she thought.

* * *

90 miles.

Daphne saw the road sign on the highway, which alerted her to how long the two travellers had remaining before they arrived.

Daphne had finally, for once, come to peace with the fact that she had a friend now, and decided to worry about rekindling her relationship with her other friends at a later time. If her friends would allow it, that is.

While Daphne kept her eyes on the road, her ever-cheerful friend listened to music while humming along.

 _This was going to be a good weekend,_ Daphne adjusted her mood, as she kept repeating that phrase to herself.

* * *

5 miles.

That's the sign Daphne saw as she was just about to consider the fact that they were lost. Quite frankly, she was glad to be done driving. Her eyes felt like they were heavy and about to close. Not looking over at what she was doing, as moving her head felt like running a marathon, Daphne called to her friend to see if she could help keep a lookout for the place. The road was slowly leading her into a forest, which was dimly lit by a flickering streetlamp and her headlights. There were very spooky looking oak trees all around, and the wind howled through them as Daphne continued driving.

"Isabel?" Daphne said, in a whisper.

She finally glanced over to see her friend's head propped up against the seat with her eyelids shut. At that moment, she let out a small snore that you might hear from a sleeping kitten. Even in her sleep, Isabel's mouth was in the slight shape of a smile. Daphne wondered what her blonde friend was dreaming about. It was probably better than what she had been dreaming about recently, which was apparitions and angry conflicts with friends.

As Daphne approached the flickering streetlight, she suddenly saw a dark figure by the tree adjacent to it. The figure was wearing what appeared to be an old-style hat, and was slim in its outline. Daphne already felt scared enough in the woods alone, so she quickly looked straight at the road again and made sure to keep the figure out of her line of sight. All of a sudden, Daphne could have sworn she saw the figure directly under the streetlamp, holding up its bony-looking hand. Daphne made her eyes do a long blink, and when her sight cleared, there was no figure. She wondered if she had simply imagined it, or if there truly was someone there.

After miles of long, windy roads, and creepy forests, Daphne finally reached a bridge, which appeared to lead directly to the house.

"Isabel?" Daphne attempted to wake her friend up one more time.

Isabel's eyes flew open this time, simply uttering a questioning "Hmm?"

"We're almost there!"

Isabel ran her hand across the length of her hair, to make sure it was still flat, before replying "Ooh! Exciting!"

Daphne had already gotten so used to the other female's voice that she didn't even notice the squeak in her tone this time. She envied Isabel though, she was not an early bird and hated being woken up. She wished she could be instantly awake and cheerful like her friend seemed to be.

Daphne's vehicle crossed the length of the bridge, and their destination seemed to appear out of nowhere. The house looked colonial in style, and appeared to have at least 75 rooms. It had a grayish blue color to it, and was surrounded by several trees and another forest area directly behind it, along with a large, shimmering lake.

As the girls got out of the car, they looked in awe of all the beautiful forest scenery and the house.

"You got everything okay?" Daphne asked.

"Sure, Daph!" Isabel hauled out two large suitcases, one blue and one purple.

 _Wow_ , Daphne thought, _Isabel is sure prepared for this weekend!_ She had only brought a single suitcase with the essentials, toiletries and clothes. She always felt like she overpacked for trips anyways.

The two walked up the dark pathway, where barely anything could be seen. As they approached the doorway, they were almost frozen with the harsh blowing winds.

Isabel rang the doorbell.

A man promptly answered. He wore a black suit with a matching tie, along with dress pants and brown shoes. The man appeared to be very slim, and well groomed.

"Welcome to Cerrie Mansion. You must be Daphne Blake and…" the man had a very high-pitched voice for a male, but seemed relatively eager-to-please.

"Hi, I'm her friend Isabel. So nice to meet you!" her voice squeaked on the word "meet" as she inflected it.

"The pleasure is all mine." The man said. "My name is Joe. Joe Momma."

Isabel couldn't help from snickering, but Daphne was not amused by the man's apparent attempt to be funny.

"Please, ma'am, be merciful! Not all of us have loving parents." The man wiped away a tear and sniffled, appearing to be genuinely sad about what was apparently his real name.

As the man brought himself together, the wind howled and caused the door to slam.

"It's a very stormy night tonight, so I've had all the other guests go up to their rooms. Why don't you bring your stuff up to your room and turn in for the night?"

"Ok, see you tomorrow...Mr. Momma." Daphne felt the urge to giggle herself, though the man's name was very unfortunate.

"Joe will be fine, please." The man hobbled off into the other room, still visibly sad.

* * *

The girls finished hauling their luggage upstairs in their room, which was marked with a sticky note highlighted with "Blake."

Isabel looked around for a place to set her luggage, and found a spot in the corner over by the window. As she rummaged through her bag, she glanced over towards the right corner of the room and held her hand up to her heart.

"Awww, such a pretty kitty!" she squeaked.

Daphne looked over to see an orange cat with neatly tidied fur, and a light pink collar. The cat had its tail stuck straight in the air, and appeared very aloof and entitled, as cats often are. It let out an authoritative meow as Isabel lifted up its collar to see the name "Sabrina" etched on it.

"Hi Sabrina? Who's a pretty kitty?"

Sabrina meowed, as if she were responding to Isabel's question.

"Yes, you're a pretty kitty!"

"Hmm, I wonder what they'd have a cat for in a place this huge? You could barely find it with all these rooms." Daphne inquired.

Daphne didn't receive a response, so she glanced over at Isabel, to see that she was nuzzling the cat's face, to which the feline was clearly not pleased.

Daphne simply rolled her eyes and grabbed her pajamas from her bag, so she could get changed for the night.

Daphne had fallen asleep with the book "The Mystery of Haunted Island" on her lap, which she had been reading and subsequently dropped as she felt into a slumber. Isabel was asleep as well, lightly snoring once again.

Thunder boomed across the sky and seemed to shake the floor, which woke Daphne out of a snooze. Groggily looking around, Daphne heard a scratching noise, which seemed to be almost right next to her. Glancing over, she saw nothing, other than an empty room, though she still heard the scratching as clear as day. The frightened redhead looked over at Isabel, who was softly snoring, though upon looking it appeared she was slightly moving her arm. She glimpsed down right beside her, to see that Isabel was unconsciously making a pawing motion at the sheets. Immediately realizing that's where the noise was coming from, Daphne laid her head to rest and wondered what could be going on in her friend's perky mind right now.

* * *

Sunlight.

That was the first thing seen by a groggy Daphne as she awoke from the bed, as she patted down her messy red hair at a sloppy attempt to straighten it. Her first thought was coffee. A nice, fresh-brewed cup of it. Her second thought was Isabel, and it conjuncted with her first thought, causing her to ponder if Isabel drank coffee. She imagined an off-the-wall version of her friend, as she was already perky enough without the liquid stimulant.

Daphne stretched in bed as the sunlight reflected on the salmon-colored walls of the bedroom.

Isabel quickly awoke minutes after, doing a big stretch and yawn before she chirped "Rise and shine, Daph! Ready for a fun day of mysteries?!"

It figured Isabel was a morning person. Daphne couldn't stand mornings herself, it was always so tough for her to force herself to be fully alert. Daphne paused for a moment and simply responded to the girl with a groan.

"Oh come on, it's a beautiful morning! The sun is shining; the birds are chirping!" Isabel commented perkily, after doing another large stretch immediately subsequent to her effortlessly getting out of bed.

Daphne couldn't make her brain find the right words to respond, so she simply responded with another tired groan that was somewhere between an affirmative noise and an inaudible grunt.

"Does someone need coffee?"

 _I know who doesn't need coffee,_ Daphne nonverbally replied in her thoughts.

* * *

Isabel fast-walked down the stairs, but occasionally slowed down to wait for her friend. When they got down the stairs finally, they both saw something they didn't expect.

"A murder!" Joe shouted.

Not being alert enough to remember that these mystery weekends often involved faux murders, Daphne was caught off-guard.

"Who was he?" Daphne questioned, while trying to force herself awake in this seemingly-dire situation.

Joe calmly replied "one of our guests, Jack Miller."

"Psst." Isabel nudged Daphne's arm and whispered. "You know this is part of the game, right?"

"Oh. Oh. Yeah." Daphne replied in a scatterbrained voice.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, as you may have seen, the game has already begun!" Joe announced in a radio DJ-style voice. His voice carried across the large room. "The clues start now, so START LOOKING!"

Daphne, Isabel and the other guests glanced around the room, which was decorated in old, colonial furnishings. The wall across from them had a grandfather clock bolted to it, and had several Revolutionary War antiques scattered across it, all neatly put on shelves. The room was painted a light blue color, that gave Daphne a sense of home.

"There is a murderer among us! No hints will be provided from me, the host! And, as you have seen, guests CAN be murdered!" Joe's voice boomed, which was quite different from the impression Daphne had of the seemingly-meek man the previous night when they had arrived.

"So, WATCH YOUR BACK!" his voice echoed and bounced off the walls, causing the house to have an even spookier feel than before. "Various clues have been placed around the house for your finding convenience! GOOD LUCK!" Joe pulled a magician's smoke bomb from out of his jacket and spontaneously lit it and threw it to the ground, leaving the guests in a cloud of smoke where nothing was visible. When the smoke finally cleared, Joe had vanished.

"A man of few words." Daphne said sarcastically. "Sure not the impression of him I got last night."

Isabel simply giggled in response, but something else caught Daphne's eye. Three younger people about her age, two of which were males. The first male sported a brown shirt with green pants, while the second male donned white pants with a blue shirt. The only female wore a red shirt and orange skirt. All of them reminded Daphne so much of Fred, Shaggy and Velma.

"Like, voinks!" the brown-shirted man shouted. "Is that Daphne Blake, of Mystery Incorporated?" He pointed over in Daphne's direction.

"I think it is!" the female observed.

"Like, we're huge fans, man!" the green-trousered fellow replied.

"We based our whole mystery-solving group after you!" the male in the blue shirt added.

Daphne simply nodded, but was too surprised to immediately reply. She knew they had been in the news a few times, but never imagined Mystery Incorporated was popular enough to have a cover group.

The female spoke again. "I'm Thelma, this is Dred." She pointed at the man in the blue shirt.

"Hey." he replied coolly.

"And this is Saggy." Thelma continued.

"Wassup my dude?" the brown shirted man said in a very hippieish voice.

Before Thelma could speak again, Daphne's blonde friend opened her mouth and said "Hey Daph, you never told me you were in a mystery group!"

"Yeah, I was." Daphne responded. "It was called Mystery Incorporated, but we really grew apart as friends. That's why I decided to start my show."

Thelma, Dred and Saggy looked up at her in awe, shocked that they were talking to the actual Daphne of the Mystery Incorporated gang.

"Wait, if you guys are a cover group, where's the Daphne of the group? And Scooby?"

"We could never find another Daphne." Thelma looked disappointed as she articulated her words. "Well, there was one, but she left. We could never seem to find anyone like her, or you, for that matter."

 _Maybe Thelma was right._ Daphne affirmed mentally, _Is it possible that everyone brings something unique to a group, that can't be replaced by another person?_

"But we DO have an animal mascot!" Thelma said, her spirits suddenly lifting.

As Thelma spoke, a small orange tabby came down the stairs. It distinctly had its tail pointed straight up, causing the two friends to have an epiphany that it was the same cat they had seen last night.

"Meet Professor Sabrinus Flufftailius!" Dred announced triumphantly.

Thelma leaned over to Daphne and whispered "We just call her Sabrina."

"Without the professor, we'd never survive! She's the true brains of our group!" Dred continued.

Sabrina began lifting her paw up, causing Dred to have a look of awe on his face. "I think she's about to tell us something mind-blowing!"

Everyone's eyes turned to the orange tabby, though instead of speaking, she simply licked her front right paw.

"Wait...wait…" Dred left everyone in suspense. "She's saying...we need to lick the plate of life to the fullest to stay clean from eternal sin!"

Sabrina began itching her ear, and after finishing simply meowed and rubbed up against Thelma whilst purring.

Despite the distractions, Daphne realized she needed to look around at the other mystery groups, which were essentially her competition. It appeared to her that the other contestants were far more normal than the group they had been speaking to. All of them were dressed very proper, the men in suits and the women in formal dresses.

"Well, we might as well start searching!" Daphne suggested, eager to begin the actual mystery solving aspect of the weekend.

"You guys wanna come with us?" Dred inquired, while keeping a close eye on Sabrina.

"Well, sure...but isn't this supposed to be a _competition_?" Daphne reminded.

"Yeah, but no one said we can't have allies." Thelma added.

"Ummm...I guess we can." Daphne was still unsure. It hadn't been made clear exactly what the reward was for winning the mystery weekend, but whatever it was, she wanted to win it! "You ok with that Isabel?"

"Of course!" Isabel replied in her usual cheerful manner.

"Then it's set." Thelma affirmed. "Come on, Saggy!"

"Like, no way, man! Mysteries give me the hibbidy-dibbidies!" Saggy replied.

"I believe the phrase is heebie-jeebies, unless you've suddenly become Bill Cosby." Thelma smirked.

"Would you do it for Saggy Snack?" Dred offered.

Dred's words caused Isabel to gag. She didn't know what a "Saggy Snack" was, but it certainly didn't sound appealing to her.

"Hit me up, man!" Saggy opened his mouth, as Dred tossed him the snack, as if he were a canine. Saggy caught the snack in his mouth and chewed it, before replying "Let's go, my dudes!"

Daphne wasn't sure if Saggy was just acting or if he just really loved hearing the buzz words "man" and "dude," since he had used them a lot.

Daphne had been so distracted, she hadn't noticed the other mystery solvers had all gathered around a wooden table near the dining room. She motioned for the others to join their fellow mystery solvers, and they quickly followed to see what the commotion was. As they went into the next room, everyone continued staring at the colonial decorations which littered the house from top to bottom.

As the friends got up to the table, they realized that the other mystery solvers had discovered the clue in the form of a riddle.

Daphne read the clue aloud to the group. "You don't have much time so watch the tick tock, your next clue hides behind the paper of rock."

"Oh good lord, what could that mean?" Thelma immediately blurted out, as the clue was very vague and repetitive.

"Paper of rock...maybe we just play rock-paper-scissors until Joe comes back and tells us the next clue." Dred said.

"Nah! Paper of rock means like a tablet. You know, like those ancient scroll dealies." Saggy hypothesized.

"But that's not paper." Thelma replied.

"What about a rock poster?" Isabel chimed in. "There was one last night, when we came down the hallway."

Daphne hadn't noticed any rock poster, though, to be fair, she was still quite exhausted when she had gone up the stairs.

"We don't need rock posters! Professor Flufftailius shall give us the key." Dred announced to the group.

Sabrina looked up, as she had apparently been napping while her human companions had been sleuthing. She simply gave the group a "what-are-you-looking-at" stare and curled back up, placing her head on the tile floor.

"Well, I like Isabel's idea," Daphne stood up for her friend, "Let's go upstairs and see what we can find."

"Yeah." Thelma affirmed. "What other lead do we have right now?"

The friends all nodded in agreement and began walking up the stairs together, with Isabel leading the way.

* * *

As Isabel walked down the long hallway, the floorboards squeaked as she took each step. The mansion was obviously quite old, Daphne assumed it dated back to the 18th century. With Thelma behind her, Daphne continued taking steps until Isabel stopped in her tracks and pointed.

"There's the one I saw!" the blonde pointed to a poster which had three girls on it, with one particularly sticking out, as the female had jet black hair with red highlights and large fangs. She wore a black dress with red overtones, and a bat necklace around her neck. The other two women in the poster looked less intimidating, though they did look very Gothic. One female wore a greenish-black dress and had her hair in pigtails, also donning green lipstick. The remaining woman wore a purple dress and had her reddish hair standing on end. The poster had the band's name displayed prominently in red, which read "The Hex Girls."

Relooking at the poster, Isabel looked in awe at the black-haired girl with fangs, simply uttering "She's so cool."

As Isabel continued to be impressed by the bat-necklaced female's gothy beauty, Daphne lifted up the poster, and found a scrap of paper, neatly cut, taped to the back of the rock poster.

"Do not wait until you're older, look no further than the soldier." Daphne read the clue aloud.

Everyone looked to Isabel immediately, causing her to blush inadvertently. "Sorry guys, I don't know this one."

"No problem Mrs. Dude!" Saggy said loudly, causing Daphne to wonder if he was trying to be overly hippie-ish to mimic the real Shaggy. Daphne glanced over in Isabel's direction, to see she had her sweatshirt sleeve up to her face, trying to make the fact she was snickering (Daphne assumed to the "Mrs. Dude" comment) unnoticeable.

"There are a bunch of soldiers figurines downstairs, why don't we look there?" Thelma asked.

"Lead the way, oh Knowledgeable One!" Dred cried valiantly to Sabrina, to which her response was to sniff Dred's sneakers. "You disappoint me, professor!"

"Dred, how many times do we have to tell you the cat is just a cat? She doesn't know any more than we do." Thelma rolled her eyes at Dred's stupidity.

"Oh yes she does! How do you think she obtained her Ph.D?" Dred said, in an announcer-type voice.

Thelma chose not to respond, and led the gang downstairs.

* * *

"There are hundreds of soldier figurines here, so we have to check all of them for the clue." Thelma instructed, as the gang split off.

Daphne began lifting up each of the figurines, beginning with one that had a moustache and donned a redcoat uniform. All of a sudden, she heard a shatter. Everyone turned in Dred's direction, including Sabrina.

"What? Isn't that the quick way to check them?" Dred said, in an "I-think-I'm-smart" tone.

"Dred! These figurines cost thousands of dollars, each! These are from the War of Independence!" Thelma whispered, hoping no one else would notice the fact Dred broke the figurine.

"Sorry, Thelma. I'll be more careful, this time!" Dred replied humbly, as he lifted up a figure holding an American flag."

"Ayyy my dudes, I found it!" Saggy said, in a very chill manner. Saggy held up a figure with a small hole drilled in the bottom of it, and pulled out a note.

He began to read it as the gang gathered around. "Uh, you'll find, like, what you're lookin' for, man, if you use the right mode, dude…"

Daphne grew very annoyed and snarkily interrupted Saggy. "Can you maybe read the note like you didn't just finish smoking a joint?"

"I'll read it!" Thelma asserted, in attempt to diffuse the growing disagreement between Saggy and Daphne. "You'll find what you're looking for if you use the right mode, to find what you seek go hit the road."

"Well, we know what that means, let's get out of here guys!" Dred said, in an inadvertently silly voice.

"No, it means the road outside of the mansion." Thelma corrected. "Everyone get their coats, it's chilly out there!"

"Ok, we'll meet back here in 15 minutes?" Daphne suggested.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan!" Dred replied. That was the first non-stupid thing Daphne thought she had heard him say for as long as she knew him.

* * *

The new friends began walking up the creaky stairs together. The stairwell had several old paintings, as you would expect a spooky mansion to, though these paintings were all of Revolutionary War heroes such as George Washington, Paul Revere, and Benjamin Franklin. Whoever owned the house (she didn't believe it was Joe) must have a fascination with history and that particular war.

Daphne looked behind her as she was about halfway up to the next floor, and saw Saggy following. She admittedly felt bad for her angry comment to him, so she decided to apologize.

"Hey Saggy, sorry about what I said earlier. That wasn't fair to you." Daphne attempted to keep the apology brief, as she didn't particularly feel any connection to Saggy, but felt bad she had offended him.

"Like, it's okay. It's cool, dude."

Saggy's response made Daphne once again annoyed with him, though she decided not to say anything. Well, until her curiosity got the best of her.

"Saggy, do you just use all those "jive" words to act like my friend, Shaggy?" Daphne questioned, but immediately regretted her decision as her words could be portrayed as offensive.

"Like, I don't know what you're talkin' about, my dude!" Saggy said, as he walked into his room with Thelma and Dred.

One thing was to be said though, Saggy was sure an interesting guy. He was somewhere between '60s hippie and '90s rapper, though he had a way of making his identity unique to himself.

* * *

Daphne walked back into her room spacing out thinking about Saggy and their conversation, and had briefly pushed her other thoughts to the back of her mind. She walked in and was briefly surprised to see Isabel, already wearing her brown jacket with a wool inner lining and hood. To her credit, Isabel hadn't said much for the last few hours while they were looking for the soldier figurine clue.

"How are you doing?" Daphne said in a concerned voice, as Isabel was acting more aloof than she had ever seen.

"Good, my dude!" Isabel said in a rather loud voice, surprising Daphne. The loud comment was immediately followed by a giggle, causing Daphne to look up and stare at her friend in confusion.

"What? You like Saggy or something?

"No! But those three are interesting characters alright."

Daphne couldn't disagree with that. "Yeah, especially Saggy. And Dred." She quickly changed the subject without warning. "You doing alright? You seem...detached." Daphne searched for the correct word to use, that wouldn't offend her new friend.

Isabel replied nonverbally by raising her eyebrows in surprise, though Daphne couldn't tell if it was actually surprise or simply a gesture to make it appear like everything was okay when it wasn't. "No, I'm good." the blonde shrugged, pulling a brush out of her jacket pocket and bringing it up to her somewhat messy hair.

Daphne figured everything must be relatively okay (after all, it was Isabel - when _wasn't_ she cheerful?) so she looked at her watch and realized "It's almost five-thirty, we should get down to the door and meet everyone else.

"Ok!" Isabel squeaked, seemingly going back to her "normal" self. She let out a yawn, and began walking towards the door.

* * *

The two females walked through the hallway and down the stairs, to see the smiling face of Saggy waiting at the door.

"What up my dudes?" Saggy said enthusiastically, as if he hadn't seen them for months.

"What up my Saggy?" Daphne said, trying to mock Saggy's voice and tone.

"You guys ready?" Thelma asked, as she came down the stairs as well with Dred.

"Where's Sabrina?" Daphne asked.

"She's taking a little CAT nap. Get it? Get it?" Dred elbowed Daphne.

Annoyed at Dred's horribly bad attempt at a joke, Daphne replied "Yes!" in a passive-aggressive tone.

Thelma opened the front door, until the wind nearly swung it shut again with its hard gust.

"It looks like the weather today really BLOWS. Get it? Get it?" Dred continued elbowing Daphne in the gut.

"Yes!" Daphne was about ready let Dred "get it" right in the face.

The wind gusted hard against the group as they trudged out to the road. Conversing with each other, they looked for hours along the road but found nothing. There was a woods adjacent to the roadway, but it was far too dark and no one wanted to risk going out there to see who...or what…could be waiting for them.

* * *

10:00pm.

That's what Daphne's watch read just as everyone was ready to go inside out of being chilled from the icy wind.

Throughout the last few hours, Daphne felt she had gotten closer to Thelma and Saggy (Dred still was far too annoying for her taste) and began to think of them as equals, and maybe even friends. They talked about their mystery solving antics, compared some of their spookiest and silliest cases and discussed different aspects of their life casually, as friends do. She had been so busy talking to Thelma and Dred that she hadn't even remembered Isabel, who was still acting quite aloof and hadn't talked the whole time.

Finally, the blonde spoke up and said "Hey guys? Fish line usually isn't tied in trees, is it?"

The gang all came over and looked up to where Isabel was pointing. Sure enough, the fishing line had a note tied to it, which fell to the cold ground as her hand pulled it.

"I think you're starting to get the trick, go to the place where the foundation is of brick." Daphne read, so everyone could hear.

"The chimney?" Saggy asked.

"It doesn't matter now, Saggy, it's nearly 10:30. Let's get some shut-eye and get back at it in the morning." Thelma replied.

The group all trudged back in the house with tired eyes, all ready to go to bed. It had been a long day, and they needed to rejuvenate before more brainpower was used.

* * *

Daphne opened her eyes, to see that Isabel was not in the room. She knew something was up, but she couldn't figure out why Isabel was acting so odd.

Daphne put a robe over her pajamas and walked downstairs, presuming no one else would be awake to see her.

Heading towards the kitchen area, Daphne could hardly see anything as she refused to turn on the lights, as she could see well enough to avoid falling and she didn't want to wake anyone up.

Sure enough, the blonde was grabbing something out of the fridge. Though she couldn't see her face, she could distinctly hear Isabel sigh behind the refrigerator door. Isabel shut the door and jumped out of fright when she saw her red-haired friend standing beside her.

"Oh. Hi Daphne!" Isabel chirped. Even when the girl was acting odd, she was _still_ cheerful!

"Isabel, I can tell something's wrong. You might as well tell me now, it'll save you days of badgering." Daphne vaguely threatened, out of concern for her friend's well-being.

"Fine." Isabel replied, expressing her dissatisfaction with a huff.

Suddenly, a burst of light appeared out of nowhere, and a loud moaning sound began coming from upstairs.

Both girls paused for a moment in fright. After several minutes of silence, they realized it may have just been one of the many things that were most probably wrong with an old house such as this one.

Isabel spoke again, saying something that seemed to Daphne like she was dodging their previous conversation and acting like it never happened. "You know how Dred, Thelma and Saggy mentioned their previous friend?"

As she ended her sentence, the light from the top of the stairs grew brighter.

"What is that?" Daphne said, slightly panicked.

The ghostly moaning resumed as well, as the light came closer and closer down the stairs. The sounds became more and more audible, and sounded like they were almost upon the two friends.

Just as Daphne thought she couldn't be any more frightened, Isabel finished her thought. "I'm Daphne."

Daphne just gave her a look of confusion, while her eyes stayed glued to the ever-approaching light and moaning coming their way.

Isabel looked up the stairs as well, frightened, but continued speaking. "I'm Thelma, Dred, and Saggy's friend that left the mystery cover group. I used to be Daphne."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

So as you obviously can tell, this chapter isn't too paranormal-y (other than the end), which I apologize for as I told you all last chapter that it would be an oddity not to have a supernatural villain in a chapter. Truth is, this chapter was supposed to be wrapped up rather than left on a cliffhanger, though I decided to split the chapters up last-minute as this one was getting quite long. Pretty much all of this is leading up to the eighth chapter, which should be really exciting and I think this one ended in the perfect place to leave everyone in suspense for next chapter!

Before I get into the few things I want to mention for this chapter though, it's:

 _Reference time:_

Menkle's (which is portrayed as a clothes shop in this fanfic) is a reference to the toy store featured in 2012's christmas special "Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays."

Daphne's book "The Mystery of Haunted Island" is a reference to The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode which features the Harlem Globetrotters, also titled "The Mystery of Haunted Island." (really good episode if you haven't seen it, one of my favorites!)

The Hex Girls poster is a reference to the wonderful Eco-Goth band The Hex Girls, who appear in several Scooby-Doo movies and episodes. And speaking of The Hex Girls, if you want another good Scooby fanfic to read, definitely check out Grumpydrawer's "It's A Hex Life" on this site if you haven't yet. It's a really fantastic read and one of my personal favorite Scooby fanfics out there, so definitely look it up if you haven't already.

This was a quite enjoyable chapter to write for me, so hopefully you all enjoyed it as well. The 'cover group' was a really fun add-in to the story, particularly Saggy was a humorous character to write. Though as I'm writing the next chapter I will have to think up some more phrases with "dude" in them lol.

Isabel was a particularly fun character to write for, and not only because she was a relief from having to write depressingly for Daphne's mood. Isabel isn't meant to be the "dumb blonde" type at all, she's just intended to be a perky, cheerful person who loves her life and is free-spirited so to speak. So I hope you enjoyed her as a character, as she will be appearing obviously in the next chapter plus likely in future chapters as well.

Lastly, I'll just say reviews are definitely welcomed and appreciated for this fanfic! That includes critical ones as well, if you think I should change an aspect of this story or I didn't include something I should have, let me know! Though when I say critical I do mean constructively critical - no "your fanfic stinks like monkey dung" please. That is, unless you can tell me _why_ it stinks and how it could be constructively improved as a story overall, of course!


	8. The Phantom of Cerrie Mansion

Daphne simply looked at her blonde friend in shock.

Isabel nodded to confirm that what she said was indeed correct, then quickly swiveled around to see the apparition upon them. The man wore a Redcoat outfit from the American Revolutionary War, and pointed at them, waving a lantern in its hand.

"Do not invoke the secrets of this mansion!" it moaned.

Though incredibly scared, Daphne wished she had brought her camera so she could document this on the show. This would have been a perfect opportunity for an episode.

"S-s-s-says who?" Daphne stuttered.

"Ghosts of the past own these parts! Strangers are not welcome! Gooo!" the lantern-wielding phantom replied.

"I'm going! I'm going!" Daphne quickly ran into the other room, as the ghost followed to chase her. She didn't even look to see what Isabel had done or which direction she had gone in.

Daphne quick made a circle around the house (quick being a relative word...she knew the house was huge!) and ran back up the stairs, not glancing to see if she was being followed. Quickly running into her room, Daphne slammed the door behind her and locked it. Short of breath, she peeked under the door crack to see if there was still imminent danger. The ghastly glow began fading down the stairs.

 _Isabel._

Daphne's heart sunk when she realize her friend was not in the room, and could be still chased by the ghost. Out of immense fear and newfound uncertainty about the blonde's identity, Daphne guiltily took off her robe and nestled herself under the sheets, her head completely submerged in the sea of cotton that surrounded her vision.

* * *

Unable to fall asleep, the redhead continued worrying, staring up at the sheets which covered her face. There was only silence for about an hour. Until she heard the noise.

The loud noise startled Daphne and caused her to flip around her line of sight to the wall, in which she saw a small hole which was not there before.

"Damn it!" a deep voice shouted.

Suddenly, a large man climbed through the window. He was a beastly man, who clearly hadn't missed any meals. He was only slightly taller than Daphne, but nonetheless was intimidating with his rugged look and bald figure.

Daphne didn't even have time to think before her legs began aiding her in escaping, dodging the bullets which were shot in her direction. She was certain someone would have heard such a loud sound, but no one was in the hallway when she sprinted by. Having no time to change out of her pajamas, she felt more vulnerable than ever in the thin fabric which left part of her shoulders exposed.

* * *

Running. Nonstop running.

That was all she had been doing for what felt like hours, running through the house and into the basement where she could make an easy escape if needed. She only knew she wanted two things. To feel relatively safe, and then to have a good cry. This had quite possibly been the scariest night of her whole life. Daphne realized that no matter how strong you are, sometimes you just need to get out a good cry. Though, of course it didn't help that she was already emotional from the loss of Velma and confusion about Shaggy. _So this is what it means to be an emotional mess,_ Daphne thought internally.

The internal monologue instantly stopped when she heard footsteps around the corner. And a light. That damn light. She braced herself for the fact it was probably the ghost again, but took a glance just to make sure.

All the weight of the world instantly dropped off of her shoulders when she saw a familiar face. Not even thinking, Daphne ran up to Isabel and started to cry on her shoulder whilst hugging her. She didn't even quite understand why, she just had the feeling she needed the release of emotion. Though still crying, Daphne felt a slight bit of relief when she felt her friend's arm hug her currently vulnerable body back.

After a few good minutes of crying, Daphne looked up, but saw a slightly different face than she had before. Although she was still in the same friend's presence, it felt like Isabel were different now that she had revealed her big secret.

"You. Saggy. Thelma." Daphne tried to hold back her unstoppable tears as she struggled for words. For a minute, she gave up and resumed the eye waterworks on Isabel's shoulder.

Isabel stroked Daphne's red hair in attempt to comfort her, and whispered "It's okay if you need to cry."

For whatever reason, that made Daphne cry a little harder because she didn't understand why she was still crying. Isabel patiently waited for her friend to stop crying and asked if she needed anything.

"Can you," Daphne paused to sniffle, "explain why you left? The mystery group? And why did you pretend you didn't know them! And why…"

The blonde interrupted "Slow down! I may seem like someone who's shallow, but you know, I am quite a complex person once you get to know me. Now, where do you want me to start?"

Complete seriousness in her teary eyes, Daphne looked up. "Why did you leave?"

"I didn't lie to you, I just avoided the details." Isabel explained. "I wanted to become a journalist, but later I decided I didn't. I wanted to work as a big time TV host, not be stuck in some job I don't like anymore. Saggy, Dred and Thelma discouraged me, telling me I was throwing my life away and that I was just the stereotypical female who wanted to be some big pop culture star."

Daphne tried to imagine how Saggy could possibly discourage anyone with his comical "dude" catchphrases.

As Daphne started to calm, she realize she hadn't said anything in response. She felt she at least owed a response to Isabel, since she was no longer unable to speak. "That's such a sexist thing of them to say!"

Just as Daphne ceased crying, Isabel's face began tearing up. "I...I hate being a girl!" she blurted, before reversing roles and crying on Daphne's shoulder. Unlike Daphne, she quickly redeemed herself and wiped away the tears.

"Sorry, just a sensitive subject. I changed my mind in college last-minute, in senior year, on what I wanted to major in. My friends didn't support me, just bashed me and told me I was never there for them. I was, understandably, busy with college work and couldn't always be a part of the mystery group as my life moved on. I was too busy finding myself and unmasking my own identity to find clues or unmask some creep in a costume." Isabel continued.

"So you just left?"

"No, I tried to stick around. The bashing and self-esteem destroying only got worse as I finished my senior year. I don't give a fuck what they think. I'm just going to be the best damn person I can be, and be myself."

Daphne was taken aback by the blonde's profanity. Even the "new" Isabel didn't seem like the swearing type.

"But why did you pretend Saggy, Thelma and Dred didn't know you?"

"Well, we didn't exactly leave on the best of terms." Isabel said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad? What could they have possibly have said to someone they liked as a friend for years?" It sounded cheesy, but Daphne just wanted to reassure her friend who was obviously struggling and emotional.

"How about 'fuck off Isabel, you snarky bitch'?"

Daphne's mouth unintentionally dropped open.

"But…" Daphne spoke but couldn't think of how to articulate what she wanted to say.

"What?"

"I don't know. It's just, I feel like you kinda lied to me. You know, you could have told me in private."

Isabel's usual perky smile quickly turned into a disgusted glare.

"I lied to YOU? Do you even know how much courage it took to tell you that? I just poured my heart out to you, and you don't even care! I just cried on you!"

"But...but…" Daphne couldn't think of a comeback to let Isabel know she still wanted to be friends.

"Save your buts. I'll be up in our room. You know, I actually thought we had something real. A real friendship, which I haven't had since I left California three months ago. Some friend you are."

"But there's…" Daphne tried to warn her of the deranged man who just shot a hole in their wall.

Isabel gave her a glare as cold as ice, and slowly said "DON'T. Push me."

Isabel stormed off in a huff, making a big sigh which Daphne presumed was supposed to be noticeable.

Daphne felt the urge to cry again, but she didn't feel she had any tears left to lose.

The redhead stayed in the cold basement thinking, until eventually she came up to her room and saw Isabel, fast asleep, in bed. Awkwardly, there was only one bed so Daphne had to crawl alongside the angry blonde. Whilst doing so, she actually bumped something which she believed to be Isabel's leg. Isabel let out a disappointed huff and pulled the covers further over her head.

* * *

Daphne hated mornings. And she hated this morning most of all, because she knew when she fully awoke she would have to contend with the angry person she used to call 'friend'. Once she lifted herself out of bed, she and Isabel made a conscious effort to avoid each other whilst getting ready. At one point, she attempted to make eye contact while Isabel brushed her hair, to which the blonde looked away in disgust. If anyone would have asked her yesterday, the Isabel she saw before her this morning was something Daphne would have said was impossible.

Though she presumed she would get an aggressive "I don't care" response, Daphne felt the urge to let Isabel know she was going down to breakfast with the others.

"Isabel, I'm going down to breakfast now."

Silence overtook the room.

It was worse than she thought. Isabel wouldn't even speak to her anymore. She missed the blonde's cheery voice that came with her previous presence.

* * *

Daphne walked down the stairs in depression, and was greeted by Thelma.

"Good morning Daphne! How did you sleep?"

"Good!" Daphne lied, as she felt it too exhausting to explain what had actually happened.

"Oh good. Saggy and Dred are downstairs. Is Isabel coming?"

Daphne paused for a moment after Thelma's comment. "Umm...she was in the bathroom when I came down. I don't know how long it will take her."

As she made it down the stairs, Daphne saw a slew of different faces of the fellow mystery solvers who she did not recognize.

She glanced around the room, which was interestingly furnished in Victorian style and had several birchwood tables set up for everyone. Daphne quickly caught a glimpse of Dred, who was at the table with Sabrina the cat. She immediately thereafter saw Saggy going up to the buffet line and getting breakfast.

"Good morning, Saggy!"

Saggy simply nodded and said "Mornin', my dude!"

As he responded to Daphne, the cook put a stack of pancakes on his plate.

"Thanks, food dude!" Saggy said.

Even if she didn't have Isabel's cheery voice to grace her presence, at least Saggy and his "dude" comments would keep her amused.

After all five of them had gotten their food (Sabrina had also gotten a special bowl of cat food prepared specially by the cook), they all sat down at the empty section of a table which no one had occupied.

The conversation was average yet relieving to Daphne, the friends just talked about what a great time they had the previous day and what they were going to do today. Daphne still found it odd that Isabel was taking an extraordinarily long time upstairs. She wondered what Isabel could be doing up there, all alone and by herself. She quickly dismissed the thought and continued with the conversation.

"So, you guys want to go find a ladder and climb up on the roof?" Thelma asked.

"Sure." Dred replied humbly.

"That's cool, my dudes." Saggy affirmed.

The three continued talking, while Daphne glanced over at the food line, debating on whether to get more coffee. A dark blue-haired woman, appearing about all of their age, caught Daphne's eye. The woman appeared to pleasurably getting her morning breakfast with her back turned to Daphne. She wondered who the woman was as she hadn't seen her yesterday, at least not that she noticed.

"Let's do that right after breakfast." Thelma responded to a comment Daphne didn't hear.

All of a sudden, Daphne heard another chair slide out. Daphne caught the blue-haired woman sitting down by them in the spot that would have been Isabel's, and was interested to make a new friend in this friendly individual who sat at their table. Daphne glanced over in the woman's direction to say hello, and nearly spit her remaining coffee out when she saw her new blue haired friend was none other than Isabel.

No one said a word for a second, until Saggy blurted out in an outrageous sounding manner "WOAH MY DUDE, WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?"

Isabel, appearing to be minding her own business and oblivious to what the big deal was, replied in a quiet voice. "I dyed it."

Daphne was shocked by her friend's strange arbitrary decision to dye her hair. Just a half an hour ago, the blue hair which she gazed upon was a light shade of blondish-yellow. Despite the fact that everyone in the group was staring at their friend's drastic transformation, Isabel acted as if she didn't notice and continued eating.

"Ready to go, my dudes?" Saggy asked when it appeared everyone was done.

"Ready to go, my Saggy." Daphne responded with a giggle.

"Ready to go, my blue dude?" Saggy directly looked at Isabel.

Isabel looked almost unaffected and just nodded.

Saggy shrugged and kept moving.

* * *

As they walked, no one said a word but the atmosphere was still awkward.

"So, Isabel, why'd you dye your hair blue? Was it because you were feeling a little BLUE?" Dred once again elbowed Daphne. "Get it? Get it?"

"Yes!" Daphne pushed his elbow off of her stomach and gave an annoyed glare.

"Just wanted a change." Isabel replied, calmly. Yet she was calm, this cold, bland version of Isabel was nothing like the one Daphne knew and liked only a short day ago.

"Isabel, you seem different. What's the matter?" Thelma asked, seeming concerned.

"Nothing."

"Did you and Daphne have a fight?"

"No."

"Wait a minute, does she know that we used to be…" Dred blurted obnoxiously.

"Shhh!" Thelma said. "I don't think she does!"

"I know you guys used to be friends." Daphne said, in a disgruntled manner.

"Isabel, you know we just wanted what's best for you right?" Thelma continued pushing.

Daphne was in anticipation of a huge blowup from Isabel.

"Yes." Isabel answered plainly, and then looked down towards the dirt.

"Isabel, you're not yourself. We're not going another inch further until you explain yourself!" Dred commanded in an authoritative yet goofy voice.

Daphne was instantly uncomfortable with the group of people she was walking with. She knew this was the moment Isabel was about to either blow or running away crying.

"Daphne and I had a fight. I decided to dye my hair. I ate breakfast. Saggy said 'ready to go my blue dude'. I walked with you. Dred asked me to explain myself." Isabel sounded so cold and unaffected by their comments it was bizarre. It reminded Daphne of a programmed robot.

"Ok, that's about the extent of it." Dred shrugged and continued walking toward the garden shed, where they immediately spotted a blue ladder leaning up against a tree.

"Hey, look, it's just like Isabel dudes!" Saggy pointed to the blue ladder.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. That is so funny to every-one." Isabel said in the most robotic voice she could.

"Guys, would you stop acting like babies and treat Isabel like she's actually a human?" Daphne was fed up with her friends' disrespect of Isabel.

Isabel didn't even flinch as Daphne stood up for her.

"I'm not acting like a baby! I'm acting like a man!" Dred said in a silly voice.

"If you were really a man, you'd stop antagonizing this poor girl!" Daphne shouted. "It's my turn. We're not moving another step until you explain why you stopped being friends with Isabel."

"To be honest...we felt bad ever since we told her off. It was never our intent to stop being friends. We were just disappointed in the career path she chose." Thelma explained.

"Excuse me? She's a grown woman and choose whatever the hell career path she likes!" Daphne asserted, astonished at Thelma's lack of consideration.

Though Isabel was still pretending like she didn't care, Daphne thought she caught a glimpse of an impressed look in the blue-haired girl's eyes.

"But...Isabel had, like, worked so hard at journalism. She seemed, like, passionate about it my dudes! Then, man, she suddenly came up to us dudes and said she wanted to, like, be a TV host, man!"

Daphne tried to follow Saggy's comments through his constant addition of superficial buzzwords.

"What Saggy's trying to say is that Isabel seemed so passionate about journalism, but then said she hated it and wanted to go into TV hosting. We just wanted to make sure she wasn't making a mistake." Thelma added.

"Yeah, she was gonna do some TV show about poaching endangered apes in the jungle. I had to stop her!" Everyone's eyes turned to Dred, as his comment made no logical sense. "Oh, wait, that was me! I call it 'All the Apes DRED Poaching.' Get it? Get it?" Dred elbowed Saggy.

"Yes, my dude!" Saggy shouted in annoyance.

"Then why did you tell her to go...you know…" Daphne didn't want to say the actual word used.

"She was being stubborn. She said she was going to quit the mystery group if we wouldn't let her follow her dreams. It just seemed like what she wanted wasn't right for her. We just didn't want her to make a mistake she'd regret." Thelma said, as calmly as possible.

Daphne began thinking that though Thelma and the others were misguided, their intentions weren't all bad. Daphne looked back at her blue haired friend, and Isabel returned the gaze and came over to her.

"Daphne, thank you." Isabel's voice moved from a robotic tone to something which sounded more like the Isabel that Daphne remembered. "I'm sorry I was irrational. I was just...scared. We seem so much alike, and I didn't want to lose you as a friend. So I pushed you away to make it seem like it was my idea to end the friendship. I couldn't stand the thought of losing another friend because I upset them."

Isabel extended her arms, to which Daphne physically responded by hugging her friend.

"Friends?" Daphne asked after Isabel loosened her grip.

"Of course!" Isabel's voice let out a tiny, yet noticeable squeak. Daphne knew Isabel was truly back, at least slightly.

Daphne paused for a moment, and waited for the three friends and Isabel to rekindle their own friendship.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say we're sorry. We tried to make you do something you knew you didn't want to do, and we were wrong."

"Sorry." Dred replied, humbly.

"Sorry, man. Will you be my dude again?" Saggy replied playfully.

"No." Isabel's happy tone dropped to one full of contempt.

"But...we forgive you!" Thelma continued pushing, despite Isabel's discomfort.

"C'mon...I'll let you shoot an ape on my TV show! Right in the butt!" Dred smiled, surprising Daphne with the fact that he may actually be serious. Everyone looked in Dred's direction, shocked by the abstract and utterly bizarre comment that came out of his mouth.

Isabel ignored Dred's oddness and replied seemingly to Thelma and Saggy. "IF I were to trust you again, it would take a long time. You really hurt me, and made me feel like I somehow wasn't good enough as a person. Friends like Daphne understand how important it is to be yourself."

Daphne nodded in agreement, as Isabel made a great and thought-provoking point.

"That's fair. Anything we can do?" Thelma said.

"Just give me my space. I'll talk to you if I want to, otherwise just leave me alone." Isabel sounded both relieved and authoritative. The idea of Isabel not even allowing them to talk to her unless she was up for it sounded so forceful to Daphne.

Thelma and Saggy looked taken aback by Isabel's strong request. "O-okay Isabel, whatever you want." Thelma vocalized.

"So, Isabel, where should we go next?" Saggy said (oddly without any superficial "dudes").

Isabel just blankly looked at them.

"I think this is one of those 'leave me alone' times." Daphne responded.

"I'm kidding!" Isabel smiled. "Let's get the ladder and get up to the chimney. And yes, Saggy, it's blue. Like my hair."

"You know it, my dude!" Saggy cracked a smile, apparently excited with the possibility Isabel might be speaking to him again.

* * *

The friends got the blue ladder and climbed up to the chimney. Isabel, who was already on the roof, lifted Daphne from a narrow rung, and brought her the rest of the way onto the roof.

"Thanks, friend." Daphne laughed.

"You're welcome, friend." Isabel smirked.

"Oh come on, don't rub it in dudes!" Saggy said in a surprised voice, since he had just been scolded about treating Isabel poorly himself.

"Can we please go back to normal like yesterday, instead of this weird thing we're doing now?" Thelma requested.

"Yes!" Daphne quickly blurted, not realizing that she was eager to forget this odd incident which had transpired in the last hour.

"Here's the clue." Isabel grabbed the clue out of the chimney.

"What's inside that physically sustains, is outside but musically remains." Daphne glanced over the blue-haired girl's shoulder.

"An organ?" Isabel asked, as if she were unsure.

"Isabel, you're a genius!" Thelma raised her voice in excitement.

"Quick, let's go back to our room. We have a church organ in our bedroom." Dred remembered.

The friends all helped one another lift themselves off of the roof and quickly hustled to the threesome's bedroom.

* * *

The Mystery Inc. cover group's room was a pigsty, various belongings and clothing were thrown all over the floor and forced everyone to step over their possessions. Isabel looked at the ground trying to see where the organ could possibly be in this mess, but only found several dirty clothes.

"Who's are these?" Isabel asked curiously, pointing towards a pair of boxer shorts with unicorns all over them.

"Those are Dred's, dudes!" Saggy said, trying to keep a straight face.

"I just like unicorns is all." Dred replied sheepishly, his face visibly reddening with embarrassment.

Ignoring Dred's odd choice of underwear, Thelma pointed towards the organ which was located in the walk-in closet.

"Over here."

"I don't see a clue though." Daphne pointed out.

"Where's the professor? She could assist us in this horrific dilemma!" Dred asked, referring to Sabrina.

"Look. There's a piece of paper sticking out from under this key." Isabel gazed at the misplaced white object. "2, 4, 6, 8, you'll find your next clue which below awaits."

"They know my safe combo! Everyone, hide your money!" Dred shouted.

"No one knows anyone's safe combo!" Thelma said in a frustrated tone, tiring of Dred's off-the-wall ridiculous antics. "Well until now."

"What's in there exactly, dude?" Saggy inquired.

Dred sheepishly drew his straight face into a smile, barely able to contain himself. "Embarrassing stuff." He blurted before bursting out in laughter.

"Can someone give him a chill pill? Please!" Thelma glared in Dred's direction as his sides metaphorically split.

"Enough silliness!" Daphne rolled her eyes, clearly not amused. "The clue probably means the basement."

"Well, that's kind of vague." Thelma commented.

"Not all the clues can be instant finds. We're mystery solvers, remember. Nothing comes easy." Daphne replied.

"Let's hit up the basement, yo!" Saggy asserted.

Whilst walking down the damp staircase into the mansion's spooky basement, Daphne suddenly remembered her encounter with the ghost last night. So much had happened last night and today, she had nearly forgotten.

"Wait. I forgot to tell you guys, we saw a ghost last night!"

"A ghost?" Thelma asked in surprise.

"Yeah. It told us to go away and leave the mansion before something happened to us. Spooky, isn't it?" Daphne alerted.

"It's probably just part of the Mystery Weekend. Probably that Joe guy trying to scare us." Thelma immediately dismissed Daphne's idea.

"Looked pretty real to me." Daphne countered.

"Where did the ghost chase you last night? He might have been leading you away from a clue." Thelma tried to respond kindly, showing she respected Daphne's belief.

"It was upstairs. I ran downstairs into the hallway to avoid another run in."

"Let's look there first then." Thelma responded, "Keep an eye out for anything."

Dred walked over into the other direction, hoping to find the clue near an area marked "storage."

"Dred, they don't want us to go in here!" Thelma scolded.

"Ok. I'll just drop this paper then." Dred said seriously, before Thelma stopped him and spoke again.

"Wait, that might be the clue!" Thelma read the paper. "Congratulations. You've nearly ended the chase. The treasure you seek is in the fireplace."

"The fireplace? That's upstairs, in our room!" Daphne said, in excitement.

"Wait a second, we don't even know what fireplace. There's one down here, one in the main room next to the dining area, and one in our room too." Thelma instructed.

"Let's check 'em all, Team Dude!" Saggy said boldly.

"Wait, wait, wait. We're not splitting up. Let's check together. Daphne's ghost could be anywhere." Thelma sighed.

"Oh my god, Daphne's a ghost! Quick, run!" Dred yelled, in shock.

Thelma rolled her eyes. "Dred, we don't have time for this!"

"Yeah, ain't nobody got time for that, dude!" Saggy scolded in unison.

"Let's check the one in our room first." Thelma suggested.

* * *

Little by little, the gang made progress up the steep stairs which led from the basement to the first floor of the mansion. With exhaustion, all five mystery solvers made their way up the second batch of stairs and into Thelma, Saggy and Dred's room.

"Did we find it yet?" Dred asked.

"No, Dred." Thelma rolled her eyes.

"What about now?" Dred inquired.

"Dred, you look for it!" Thelma shouted in Dred's face, exhausted with his tiresome antics.

"Hey, I found something. It says, 'wrong fireplace, dudes!'" Saggy tried to hold back to revealing smirk which alerted the group to his lie.

"It doesn't say that!" Daphne said.

"No, but Saggy has a point." Thelma hypothesized. "We've searched the place for a half-hour and haven't found anything yet."

"We can look in our bedroom next." Daphne offered.

"Okay, dudes, but if there's any unicorn boxers in there, I'm out man!" Saggy joked.

Trying to change the subject from Saggy's awkward joke, Daphne asked "where's Sabrina?" half-expecting to hear Dred's abysmal "cat nap" joke again.

"Probably napping or sunning herself somewhere. One thing you sure got right Daph, if you want a mystery solver that actually helps, get a dog!" Thelma snarked.

"Hey, what've you got against cats? I know some pretty cool cats, man." Saggy replied, causing Isabel to giggle.

Daphne had almost forgotten Isabel was following them, she had been so quiet these past few hours.

The group entered Daphne's bedroom, and looked around the fireplace. The room was incredibly neat compared to the other three's and had no visible imperfections other than a bit of blue hair dye on the counter which Isabel must have accidentally spilled.

"You havin' a party in here last night, dudes?" Saggy pointed towards the bullet hole in the wall.

"No, some weird dude tried to kill me! I had forgotten with everything else that's been going on."

Thelma gave a look of shock as Daphne spoke. How exactly would you "forget" someone shooting at you?

"It was probably Joe, trying to scare you." Thelma reassured.

"Not unless Joe put on about 100 pounds." Daphne responded.

"Maybe all those Joe Momma jokes got to him?" Dred laughed.

"Or maybe Joe hired a dude? You know, to scare you?" Saggy chimed in.

"Maybe. But I don't see anything by this fireplace, either." Daphne said in a discouraged manner.

"There's probably fireplaces in other bedrooms." Isabel mentioned.

"Why would Joe have us go in other people's bedrooms? That would be weird." Thelma said.

"Exactly, he wouldn't. So it can't be in any of our rooms. It's either in the basement one or the one near the dining room." Daphne said, her voice getting higher in excitement.

"Let's check the dining room one first. That's the most likely option." Thelma responded in a questioning voice, trying to see if anyone agreed.

"Yeah, let's head down there." Daphne agreed.

As everyone else nodded their heads, the five friends made the trek down to the dining room in which Isabel had surprised everyone with her aloofness this morning.

Saggy searched around the fireplace, finding nothing but dirty napkins and food scraps which people must have left from earlier. Seeing a piece of bread tossed on the ground, it reminded Daphne how none of them had eaten since breakfast despite it being nearly 6 o'clock in the afternoon. She just figured everyone was having so much fun that no one was hungry, and dismissed the thought. Continuing to rummage, Thelma finally spoke up after nearly an hour of searching. "Let's check the basement one. That's the only one left, unless there's a fireplace we don't know about."

* * *

While walking into the basement, Daphne glanced out the window and saw it was completely dark. She couldn't believe how fast the day had gone, in fact despite the silliness of Dred and Saggy, it was the most fun she'd had in a long time.

"Dudes, what's that light up ahead?" Saggy stared in awe.

"That's the same light I saw last night." Daphne's stomach sunk, knowing they would probably find one of the two assailants which haunted her last night.

The group continued closer, as the lights flickered. Suddenly, the lights completely shut off, leaving everyone in utter darkness. The only light remaining was the one up ahead, coming from an unknown source.

"Who are you, dude?" Saggy blurted, much to the fright of the rest of the gang.

"I am a spirit of the past." The voice moaned, and instantly took shape in front of the frightened group. "Gooo away, you do not want the curse of what this treasure will bring."

In an instant of bravery, Daphne knocked the lantern out of the apparition's hand, leaving the lantern on the ground and under her control as she picked it up and walked towards the fireplace, leaving the ghost and the rest of the gang in darkness. She could barely see, but she somehow knew the treasure was the key to the mystery. If she had learned anything from the strange events today, it was that she could let nothing stop her from her ultimate goal.

Stumbling towards the fireplace hoping the ghost wouldn't have enough light to see the rest of the left-behind group or follow her, Daphne tried to feel around for a piece of paper. All she felt was dust and ash, which quickly covered her hands. Holding the lantern directly up to where she felt, she saw a half-burned piece of paper in the woodpile next to the fireplace. Elated, she quickly read the paper. "The key to the mystery is what you know, the ghost's identity is none other than…"

All the clues rhymed, and the only name that made sense was "Joe?"

The lights suddenly flickered on.

"Joe Momma's the ghost?" Daphne asked, surprised despite Thelma's guess earlier.

"Hahahaha!" Dred burst out in an obnoxious slew of laughing. "Joe Momma's the ghost, Saggy!"

"No, JOE Momma's the ghost, Dred!" Saggy parroted, though in a slightly irked tone.

"You solved the mystery! Congratulations!" Joe replied, ignoring the Joe Momma jokes which Dred and Saggy exchanged.

"That's it?" Isabel said, feeling like the solution was a bit lackluster. "What about the guy who died in the beginning?"

"Oh, no, that was just to scare you! No one EVER died!" Joe's voice boomed once again like a radio announcer. "I was the ghost of this house, and tried to add a little scare into our little mystery fun! And you all just won a fantastic prize!"

Though Daphne was excited about winning the prize, her mind lingered to the strange figure she saw while her and Isabel initially drove to the mansion. Could that have been Joe, too?

"Joe, did you ever leave the house? As in scare us outside?" Daphne asked out of curiosity, hoping to get an answer that would settle her mind.

"No, I was only the ghost inside the house. My two rules were never leave the house and never invade your privacy by going into your rooms!" his voice carried with excitement.

That completely unsettled Daphne, as it left the possibility that the strange figure outside and the man who shot at her were still at large.

"You didn't hire anyone to come and shoot us?" Daphne continued questioning, hoping she could set her mind at ease.

"No...that would be illegal!" Joe laughed.

So either Joe was lying, or someone else did actually try to kill her. She tried pushing the disturbing thought from her mind, but couldn't.

"Well...then what's our prize?" Daphne tried to clear the awkwardness.

"$1,000 cash for each of you OR...you could take…THE MYSTERY PRIZE!" Joe's voice echoed throughout the basement.

Everyone looked back at each other and whispered amongst one another, hoping to come to an agreement.

"We'll take the mystery prize. We are mystery solvers, after all!" Thelma said with a bit of pride in her voice.

"Excellent choice my friends! You win…" Joe paused, presumably to create suspense. "Five tickets to Tombstone Manor...the scariest mystery location on Earth. You know, some say there are even REAL spirits in there!"

"That will be great for my show!" Daphne said, incredibly excited at the idea of going to a new destination. Most of all, she was excited that this wasn't goodbye for Saggy, Dred, Thelma and her and Isabel. She had come to like their little group and would have missed seeing them if they had simply said goodbye when they returned home tomorrow.

"What's there to do now?" Thelma asked, wondering as she was expecting some big finish that didn't yet occur.

"Dinner?" Joe offered in a sheepish manner.

* * *

After a nice dinner, Daphne said her goodnights to her friends and walked upstairs with Isabel, who continuously yawned due to not eating very much at dinner and because of the stressful events of the day. Though she enjoyed the day heartily, she still couldn't help the thought of that creepy man coming into her room again and shooting at her. She realized there wasn't much else she could do other than hope the guy wouldn't come again. She didn't want to make a fuss and Isabel didn't seem overly concerned about it, oddly, so why should she be?

Daphne had been so lost in her head she hadn't noticed they had already reached their bedroom. Isabel quickly changed in the bathroom and climbed into bed, looking once again (besides the blue hair) back to normal and happy again.

"Night, Daph."

"Good night, Isabel!"

It felt amazing to lay her head down on a soft pillow after all the walking they did today. Within minutes, she fell asleep.

* * *

The first thought Daphne had upon awakening is that the previous night's assailant hadn't come back. That relieved her, a bit, though she still felt odd about doing nothing about the matter. She should at least report it to the police, or Joe, or at least _someone._

Pushing the thought out of her mind, Daphne was about to go take a shower just as Isabel woke up. Isabel glanced outside, and did an exaggeratedly long stretch in bed which Daphne found somewhat adorable.

"Good morning, Daph! You sleep well?"

Before responding, Daphne paused and thought for a brief moment about the comparison between this morning and yesterday morning. At this time yesterday, Isabel wasn't even talking to her.

"Yeah, you?"

"I slept great!" Isabel answered, her voice as perky as ever. "You going to shower now?"

"Yeah, if you don't need to."

"Be my guest! Take all the time you need!" Isabel smiled. That was kind of an odd comment, Daphne thought. It's not as if she would be taking an indefinite amount of time showering. Not giving the comment further thought, Daphne dug through her suitcase and picked out her clothes for the day before going into the bathroom.

Daphne quickly undressed and got in the shower, to which the hot water sunk into her. The heat felt amazing and made Daphne feel like she never wanted to get out. Just as she was about to nearly fall asleep due to the fantastic feeling heat, she heard Isabel call "Daph, I'm going down to get breakfast! Are you coming?"

"Yes!" she yelled out of the shower, so Isabel could hear her. She quickly turned off the blissful water and dried herself.

"Daph, are you coming?" Isabel asked again after several minutes had passed, to which Daphne was very slowly drying her wet hair and body and putting on a pair of jeans.

"Sorry, yes!" Daphne quickly dug through her pile of clothes on the floor and grabbed a white lace bra and a t-shirt which she had received from the studio.

"Took you long enough!" Isabel joked, as Daphne opened the door looking frantic and rushed.

* * *

The two girls walked down the staircase with their suitcases that they had trekked up and down so many times, but realized it was their final time doing so. The two both felt a bit of emptiness after enjoying the time with fun and friends which had consumed the weekend.

After an uneventful trip out to the car to put their suitcases away, the two friends walked into the dining room where Saggy, Dred and Thelma were waiting.

"We thought you'd never get here, dudes!" Saggy blurted as soon as they were in hearing distance.

"Yeah, we wanted to say goodbye!" Dred said, in a cheerful manner.

"It's not goodbye forever. I'll give all of you my phone number before we leave, so we can keep in touch about that Tombstone Manor trip in a few months!" Daphne said, trying to lighten the ever-dimming mood.

"Sounds great! I really enjoyed spending the weekend with you guys!" Daphne thought that was the first time she had ever heard Thelma say something non-formal. She disliked Thelma's impersonal way of talking to people, and was glad to see her finally open up. Maybe this _was_ the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

As the group all finished their plates, Daphne spoke up and said "It's really been a pleasure to meet all of you guys! Keep in touch! And good luck going back to California tonight!"

"Yeah, it was great meeting one of the people we based our mystery group off of!" Thelma agreed.

"But, the real question is, will you Mystery dudes ever get back together? Like, the real Fred, Shaggy, Velma and Daphne?"

Daphne didn't know how to respond for a moment. "Umm, I guess that's just going to have to remain a mystery. For now."

Isabel giggled and joined in as everyone began hugging each other.

"Bye, Thelma!" Daphne said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"See you Daphne. Thanks for sorting out everything with Isabel. If not for you, we never would have been able to apologize to her."

"Of course!" Daphne replied to Thelma. "It was just a misunderstanding. But people change, and ultimately it's Isabel's choice if she wants to remain friends with you."

Thelma nodded, and moved on to hug Isabel.

"Bye, Dred!" Daphne said.

"Oh, phew. So you're not a real ghost. I was getting pretty worried!" Dred responded in a completely serious tone.

Daphne laughed, as she had completely forgotten about Dred's comment before they saw the ghost, or rather Joe.

Dred waved goodbye as Daphne moved on to Saggy.

"Bye, Saggy!"

"Bye, my dude! Keep it nice and cooool, man!" Saggy said in a very hippieish voice.

Daphne looked over to Isabel, who was talking to Sabrina.

"Who's a pretty kitty?"

Sabrina meowed in response.

"Awww! You're a pretty kitty! Bye, pretty kitty!" Isabel squeaked.

"Bye, Sabrina." Daphne said, though not in an as affectionate of a tone as Isabel had.

Sabrina meowed once again, making Daphne wonder if she did actually comprehend what was going on.

As the friends walked out together one last time, Daphne and Isabel and Dred, Thelma, and Saggy each got into their respective cars and gave one last wave to one another before driving off.

Daphne looked at Isabel who was clearly daydreaming. "Good trip?"

"For sure!" Isabel concurred.

"Where to next?" Daphne asked.

"Home. Then, wherever the road of friendship takes us I suppose." Isabel smiled.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Who doesn't like a feel-good ending like that one?

Well, hopefully this was a fun chapter! It was great for me getting to see the characters develop themselves and become more fully-formed, particularly Isabel.

Not as many references in this chapter, so I suppose I'll just lay them out here. This chapter was intended as a mix of two of my favorite Scooby creations out there, Boo Brothers (all the clues, particularly the chimney, organ and fireplace ones) and "The Lochness Mess" from The New Scooby-Doo Movies (the redcoat ghost, even his phrase "Ghosts of the pasts own these parts, strangers are not welcome, gooo!" is a direct quote from the episode. The lantern is also something the ghost in the episode carried as well.) And really the only other reference in this is Tombstone Manor, which is where the Gruesome Family (essentially an Addams Family parody) lived in another Hanna-Barbera cartoon, The Flintstones.

I enjoyed how this chapter turned out, despite it once again not being all that paranormal. The interactions between everyone were great, particularly both Saggy and Isabel were very fun characters to write for. Though I feel Dred did get a bit sillier than I wanted him to in places. Hopefully it didn't intrude on the story too much.

One other thing I wanted to talk about/mention, though I'm not sure if it was noticeable. I tried to make the characters seem a bit more like real people, so as such I tried to write more details than were necessary for the story development in places, such as the Daphne shower piece and the long crying scene. I feel it makes the characters a bit more relatable if we can see the everyday feelings the characters have, and makes them seem more realistic rather than simply reading only about the exciting things they do.

But I do see the counterargument to that as well, so hopefully I did it well (as always, let me know in the reviews if you feel I didn't do something well). I'll always remember my college English professor's tireless speech about how we only want to see characters doing exciting things, and not doing boring everyday things because they don't further the story at all. Specifically, she used the example from the popular book (and now movie) series The Hunger Games, and argued that no one is interested in the main character (Katniss) going to the bathroom because it doesn't further the action in any way. Though that example doesn't really work in this case, as there is actually is a part in the book (nothing gross or anything like that) where Katniss goes to the bathroom. Seriously, read it, there actually is lol.

My point being hopefully it enhanced the story by making the characters seem more realistic and relatable, though if it didn't or seemed out of place/ odd, please let me know! And of course, I'm always open to suggestions on really anything, if you feel there's something that could be improved. Thanks for reading once again and chapter 9 should be coming hopefully soon!


	9. One Last Time

**Author's note:**

So a few short notes before you begin reading this chapter.

From a writer's perspective, this chapter really does a nice job of piecing things together from previous chapters. There are a lot of loose ends and tidbits which are returned to in this chapter, and hopefully this chapter gives a bit more clarity to the odds and ends from other chapters.

That being said, most of you are likely reading these chapters now as I'm posting them (as opposed to reading all the chapters at once), so if you feel a bit fuzzy on what's happened in previous chapters, I'd recommend maybe going back and giving the first eight chapters a quick reread.

A quick reminder as well because it's been a bit since I've posted the first chapter. Crystal Cove is considered a suburb of Coolsville, so essentially the two cities are considered sister cities.

There's probably a lot more I could say about this chapter, as it is a bit of a departure from how the last few chapters have played out, but I'll just let you read for yourself!

* * *

 _Is this normal?_

This is the question Daphne had been asking herself repeatedly for the past week, after she had returned from the Mystery Weekend. Ever since the trip with the gang up to Moonscar Island, her life had in actuality been a rollercoaster of feelings and identity crises. Was she normal? Did it even matter? Maybe what mattered is she was happy and content with her identity, finally.

The redhead realized her feelings were similar to that of an angsty teenager, but her whole identity had previously been wrapped up in the gang and what they thought of her of a person. When the gang decided to break up, despite that she had acted okay with the decision, she felt a certain emptiness that she had never felt before when she was with the gang. They had moved on after all, and she felt she should too.

New thought.

Isabel made her feel complete. Her now blue-haired companion was so free, and didn't seem to care what people thought of her in the least. This is something Daphne had always struggled with as a person, her happiness was very much dependent on what people thought of her. Maybe if her friend lived in Isabelville, an environment where she could be free and not depend on anyone else around her for comfort or acceptance, the redhead could live in Daphnetown, where dreams came true and she could let her true self out without fear of judgment.

The redhead's thoughts were very abstract even to her, but comparing a mindset of not caring what others think of you to her own "city" gave her comfort for whatever reason.

Though she had only met Isabel less than two weeks ago, she felt like she truly could be herself in ways she couldn't with the gang. She loved the gang with all her heart, but things were very formulaic in the act of solving mysteries with the gang (after all, it's all they did!). Something about having a new friendship where she could become a different person with a more self-pleasing identity excited Daphne. Someday she would get back with the gang, maybe, but she knew in her heart that her and Isabel would probably be lifelong friends. Maybe it was just the excitement of a new friend, but Daphne really felt close to Isabel.

In the cool, crisp autumn air, Daphne stretched her arms outward as a symbol of her newfound mental freedom. It was cold outside and some people who walked past were just in a t-shirt, while she had cold blood even in a sweater. Getting more and more chilled by the minute, Daphne went inside her house, continuing to mentally process the events of the last few weeks. Even a few days ago, she would have shivered at the thought of having these deep emotional conversations with herself, but now she didn't mind the pointless discussions whose only purpose were continuing the emotional high she was feeling currently. She maybe even enjoyed them.

Conspicuously to herself, she had avoided thinking about Velma and their argument. And Shaggy. She didn't know how exactly she felt about Shaggy, but she was worried to discover the true feelings behind her encounter during the night at Twilight Cabin.

But did she have to do the heavy mental lifting now? No. It was a week off for her! Well, sort of. In favor of the premiere of another show, _Melbourne O'Reilly's Archeological Adventures_ , the network decided to simply air a repeat of her show so they could focus on the new show. The redheaded girl may have felt bad that the TV network decided to postpone her show in favor of another one, but quite honestly she enjoyed the break and intended to spend the time catching up on a bit of paperwork and doing little things for her show which had been neglected for a while.

As she had just gotten home from work, she changed out of her professional-looking outfit in favor of a comfortable pair of jeans and her favorite gray sweatshirt. Rubbing her face on the sweatshirt's soft inner lining, Daphne spread out on the couch and turned on the TV.

* * *

Daphne groggily opened her eyes and stretched her arms while groaning, as if it took a lot of effort to do so.

 _11:00 already?_ She thought to herself, barely able to keep her eyes open.

All of a sudden, the worn-out woman heard a loud crash coming from her bedroom window. Fluttering open, her eyes fixated on the dark, shadowy room which the noise had came from. Struggling clumsily to her feet, the redhead stumbled over to her room. Daphne moved as quietly as she could towards her bedroom. Sniffing the cold air, she caught a hint of smoke, probably from a cigarette. She despised those things, as she never understood why exactly someone would put a few minutes of pleasure over their overall health. With every ounce of strength, her fight-or-flight response told her to not investigate and leave, but her exhausted body kept moving despite the subliminal orders.

Turning the corner, Daphne saw two shadows which were not her own, whispering to each other. In an instant, the shadows turned into men which both directed their glares right towards her.

"Look what we have here, boss!"

Daphne's heart nearly stopped when she heard the voice. It was the same, unmistakable voice which had shot a hole in her wall at Cerrie Mansion during the Mystery Weekend just a few nights before. Daphne's heart sunk even more as the man turned around and confirmed her worst fears by showing his grimacing face.

"Oh, so the girl of the evening finally arrives!"

The voice instantly became connected to a person as a man wearing all black turned around. He was wearing a large black ski mask in an attempt to conceal his true identity. Daphne could have sworn she had heard the voice once before, but the mask muffled it just enough so she could not piece together who its wearer was.

Daphne tried to speak, but it just came out as a panicked squeak. Knowing she couldn't talk her way out of it, she decided to do the only thing left: run!

Sprinting away as fast as she could in her bare feet, the non-masked individual chased her at least two times as fast as she was able to run. Though she was almost sure she would be caught by the man who quickly gained on her, Daphne gave all she could to escape from her assailant.

But it still wasn't enough.

As she ran, she suddenly felt a horrible pain as the man jumped her, crushing her small body under his large, beastly figure.

"I got 'er boss. What should I do with the dame?" the man yelled to his masked superior.

"What do you think you should do with her, dumbass? Tie her up so she can't escape!"

The masked man quickly ran out to his partner, with another man joining him. The new man had a large, burly figure with blond hair, and his eyes seemed to glare into Daphne's soul.

"You got the ropes?" the black-outfitted man asked impatiently.

"Yup." the blond man replied.

Not saying a word, the redhead struggled and made it as tough as possible for the beastly bald man tying her up.

"She's a feisty one!" the bald crook exclaimed.

The ropes cutting into her skin, Daphne continued to struggle as hard as she could despite that the man had tied both her arms and legs to one of her dining room chairs.

"She ain't sayin' nothin', boss!" the bald man yelled to his masked boss. Daphne got the idea that this man wasn't exactly the brightest one of the three.

"Dimwit, she's not supposed to say anything! We don't want her to scream and let someone know she's in trouble!"

The masked man grabbed a mouth-sized piece of cloth and tied it around her mouth. As he finished making the knot, Daphne let out a cry of pain when the man pulled the knot and tightened the gag so much that it cut into her skin just as the ropes had.

Finally realizing she would likely not escape these men, whom all (beside possibly the bald man) appeared to be professionals, Daphne stopped struggling and accepted her fate, whatever that was.

The men quickly huddled in a corner where Daphne could not hear their plans, and quietly whispered to one another. Though she had stopped struggling, the ropes still cut into her skin with a sharp pain. The cloth gag was also far too tight and uncomfortable, as the men hadn't bothered to move her long red hair before tying it, causing the gag to be wrapped around a section of her hair.

Finally, the men stopped conversing with each other and circled Daphne, making her feel even more claustrophobic. The masked one was the first to speak up, "Well, Ms. Blake, we have so much to discuss!"

As if the man's last comment was intended to be a segway, he removed his mask to reveal a face which was shockingly very familiar to Daphne.

It was her boss, Jim Sands.

"Surprised?" Jim said with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face.

Daphne tried to say something, but quickly remembered her mouth was covered. She had so much to say right now and she wanted to say it so bad.

"She still ain't sayin' nothin', boss!" the bald man said in a confused and innocent tone.

"Of course she isn't saying anything, moron! She can't say anything because we've gagged her!" Jim gave his bald-haired accomplice an annoyed glare.

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right, Jim!"

"Gentlemen, what do you say we give Ms. Blake a little explanation here? She's likely very confused as to what is going on." Jim questioned, continuing to smile.

The bald man and the blond henchman said nothing and simply exchanged glances, before the blond person finally let out a monotoned "yup."

Daphne would have nodded in agreement if her body were not aching from the tight ropes clinging to her.

"You see my dear, the television business isn't just about entertainment. It's about money, wealth, POWER!" Jim's voice raised from a conversational tone to an angry shout. The two men beside Jim simply laughed along with him and grimaced evilly at the redhead.

Jim quickly resumed speaking. "You see, my father was a wise man who taught me to rule not with community, not with understanding, but with force!" To make his point, the previously masked man slammed his fist down on the table where Daphne was tied to the chair, causing her to visibly wince.

 _This man must be truly insane,_ she thought, _After all, he was talking about running a TV station, not some multi-million dollar corporation or the world, like the supervillains you see so often in movies._

Still grinning, Jim Sands continued in his power-hungry rant. "So you see, once I began running your precious little TV station, I began to get an idea. What if you, the TV producers and hosts, were to give ME money?"

Daphne had no idea what her boss was talking about, but continued listening intently. After all, what else was she to do while tied up and captive to this man's crazed plans, whatever they were.

"A true leader must place the fear of a thousand infernos into his servants' eyes! It is I who deserve that money, not you! Without me, you would be nothing!" the man's voice continued to raise and get angrier by the second. "So, Rocko, Samuel and I began making you insignificant TV producers see things my way! Those who did not had their shows pulled from the air and were fired immediately! Those who did listen to me, well, let's just say they had a little pay cut."

Samuel and Rocko laughed a perfect henchman-like laugh, like something you'd see out of an old superhero movie.

"But Ms. Blake, you may be wondering why I did not give you the same treatment." Jim continued.

Daphne tried to give as much of a nod as she could. The ropes cut into her skin like sharp knives, and the cloth gag painstakingly rubbed up against her lips like shag carpeting.

"You see, your show is the highest rated show on MY network." Jim made sure to put emphasis on the word 'my.' "You taking a pay cut would throw suspicions on me, and I can't exactly take your show off the air as easily as the other little urchins, can I?"

Expressionless, Daphne kept looking straight in Jim's eyes, trying to get a sense of what exactly it was he wanted from her. As if he read her mind, Jim got straight to the point after a long, rambling rant.

"So, Ms. Blake, it comes down to this. I've tried fudging the ratings on your show, but it was instantly marked as a 'mistake' by my nosy staff and changed to the correct number. It's a shame fudging ratings for your show wasn't as easy as your colleagues' shows. I've tried cancelling your show, you turned it around and made your show more popular than ever. I've sent people after you, like that janitor, the security guard, and my dear friend Rocko."

Rocko smiled sheepishly at his boss. "Aww shucks boss, it was nothin'!"

Jim rolled his eyes and continued. "But all of them have failed!" Rocko quickly shut up, realizing that his employer's comment was not a praise for his good work. "You have two choices, Ms. Blake, cancel your show, or we're taking you on a little trip."

"She still ain't sayin' nothin', boss!" Rocko said, in frustration.

In a violent rage, Jim Sands put out his fist and shoved it straight into Rocko's face, nearly knocking him down. "Dumbass, she can't talk! We have to remove the gag!"

Jim turned from his now-dizzy henchman over to Daphne. "I'm going to remove your gag now, Ms. Blake, so you can tell me of your final decision. But say just one word above the level of a whisper, and Samuel will shoot you! Do you have the gun, Samuel?"

Samuel reached in a large black bag, and pulled out a handgun, pointing it straight at the redhead's heart. "Yup." he replied humbly.

Slowly, Jim motioned towards Daphne's mouth and untied the piece of cloth. As Jim picked up the cloth in his hands, Daphne gasped with relief as it was removed from her lips. Unable to say anything, she panted heavily, trying to catch her breath as the gag had been so tight she was barely able to breathe through her mouth.

"What is your decision, Ms. Blake? And remember, only whispers or Samuel will shoot!"

Trying to make herself sound as quiet and meek as possible, the redhead whispered "I'll cancel the show. First thing in the morning."

What other choice did she have, after all? These men clearly weren't fooling around and would likely kill her if she did not obey their every word. Her heart aflutter, from both the gun and the emotionalness of cancelling the show which she loved so much, Daphne had to stop herself from breaking down in tears.

"No, right now!" Jim shouted. "It's 1 a.m., and you must film the announcement when no one is watching or will catch on to our plans. We can't risk you blabbing about what happened tonight, CAN WE?"

Daphne didn't understand why Jim was allowed to shout as loud as he could, while she was barely allowed to whisper. Though, upon further thought, the man clearly did have power issues and likely wanted to make her seem small and insignificant.

"Pull the van around, Samuel. Let's prepare Ms. Blake for the ride to the TV station for her final announcement." Jim smiled. "Rocko, put the gag back on. We have all we need out of her."

As Jim walked out to help his accomplice pull around the van, Rocko reached towards her with the firm piece of cloth. Though she was worried for her safety and life, Daphne felt like she had quite enough of being treated so shabbily by these men. Still at a low whisper, Daphne gave the angriest glare she could muster up right towards Rocko. If she were going to be belligerent to anyone, it might as well be the most dimwitted of the group.

"Put it on and die." she hissed.

Ignoring the girl's warning, Rocko continued putting it on, and Daphne felt a rage boil up in her blood. In a split second, Daphne reached for the man's right hand which was about to put on the gag. Putting her mouth around his hand, she grasped on and bit down as hard as she could.

"OOOWWW!" He howled, his hand bleeding where her teeth sunk. "Why she gotta be so mean, boss?!"

Jim rolled his eyes. "Nitwit, she doesn't want to be treated like this! No one would! But it's necessary to make sure the plan carries out without any more mistakes! Grab a band-aid from the car and let's go!"

Daphne hadn't intended to draw blood, but admittedly she felt quite proud of herself for doing so. If these men were going to treat her this poorly, not to mention ruin her career, she promised herself she would make as difficult as possible for them. As Rocko applied the band-aid very carefully to his injured hand, Jim put the gag in his hand and quickly tied it around her mouth before she could bite him, this time lifting up her hair in an oddly delicate manner and wrapping it around her neck, pulling the knot as tight as he could.

Due to Daphne having such a small body, Jim was able to physically drag the chair which she was tied to out the door and to his nearby black van, although quite slowly as Daphne struggled as hard as she could just to spite her former boss.

* * *

The drive felt longer than ever, despite it being the same drive which Daphne took on a daily basis to get to her work.

"You know, Ms. Blake, you're probably thinking once you record this goodbye, you'll just simply find a new show, and when the heat is off, you'll report what happened to you to the police, right?" Jim smirked.

Daphne wasn't sure if he was actually asking a question or simply trying to scare her further, but either way she gave the blankest stare she could in order to not aggravate the man more than she already had.

"You may not know this Ms. Blake, but we've been tracking you. And we shall continue to do so, just as we have the others who've declined our offer. So make one wrong move, and you'll meet a very unpleasant fate. We'll be watching your every move."

Jim's latest comment made Daphne's bones become chilled, as the thought of someone watching her constantly was quite unsettling.

As Jim finished making his intimidating remarks, the trio and the unwilling redhead arrived at the TV station.

"Uh, should I bring 'er out, boss?" Rocko asked, in his innocent way.

"No! No! Samuel, look around outside first! We can't have anyone see us!"

Samuel returned in a matter of a short minute.

"So, is it clear?" Jim urged impatiently.

"Yup." Samuel replied, causing Daphne to wonder if he ever said anything but "yup" and "nope."

Rocko bounded out of the car and opened the rear of the van, letting the crisp, night air into the back. The parking lot was absolutely empty other than a few streetlamps shining down on it. Something about the clear night sky, no stars in sight, mixed with the empty parking lot made Daphne feel even spookier.

Dragging the chair in, Jim continued to have to deal with Daphne's struggling, despite that she knew it was futile, as the ropes still clinged tightly to her figure.

When they reached the set of stairs, all three men pulled guns out and pointed them straight at her. Somehow, Rocko holding a gun was scarier than anything that had happened so far that night.

"Ms. Blake." Jim repeated, which caused Daphne to be annoyed. No one ever called her Ms. Blake this much, in fact she would much rather have been called Daphne even by criminals such as these. "We are about to untie you and walk with us at your own free will. But our guns will remain out all the way until we reach the stage, so try anything and you will be shot. What do you say, Ms. Blake?"

Daphne nodded.

Slowly approaching her, Jim first removed the gag. Daphne once again panted to catch her breath and gasped in the sweet, fresh air. Once he began untying her legs, Daphne instantly felt a sense of relief as the ropes finally ceased rubbing against her skin. For a reason unbeknownst to her, she felt the extreme urge to stick her fist into some fresh skin to quench her rage. Forcing herself, she resisted as she knew the men would likely shoot her if she tried. She comforted herself with the small bit of hope that she would maybe get a chance to sink her teeth into someone again. For now, biting was her only weapon.

Finally, Jim untied the ropes which dug into her the most, the ones wrapped around her arms and body. As the constricting ropes began to fall to the floor, Daphne was finally free from her bonds to the chair. Feeling belligerent and unable to contain herself, when the ropes hit the floor at last, Daphne blurted out "ah, that feels soooo good!" and stretched her arms obnoxiously.

"SHUT UP!" Jim screamed, aiming his gun intently at her heart. "Do that again, and I shoot! Understand?"

Daphne felt suddenly belittled and only answered Jim's question with a slight nod.

* * *

The foursome walked down the cold, dark hallway past several empty offices. Daphne felt a pang of sadness in her heart when she walked by Isabel's office which was vibrantly decorated with bright colors and several red paper hearts prominently displayed on her door. After all, this could be the last time she saw Isabel's office. After passing several more dark rooms and offices, the crooks and Daphne finally made it to the stage area.

"Rocko grabbed an outfit from your closet. Change into it quickly in that broom closet and come out. But don't think that's your 'lucky break' to get away from us, we'll be right outside the only exit to the closet with our guns, if you decide to try anything funny!"

Rocko held up the outfit, which was pretty purple blouse with two pink ribbons on the shoulders. Daphne sneered when she saw the pants Rocko picked out were a dark shade of black, which did not go with the top whatsoever. Continuing to cringe, the redhead begrudgingly went into the closet and changed out of her casual sweatshirt and ripped jeans. Despite the men's warning, Daphne still hoped to find something in the closet which she could use as self-defense, but to no avail. The men had clearly planned this in advance, as they had completely cleared out the closet of everything, leaving a dark, empty space for her to change in.

Coming out in the horridly mismatched outfit, her former employer clapped and said in a quiet voice, "You look stunning, Ms. Blake! Are you ready for your final show tonight?"

 _This man truly must be crazy,_ Daphne thought to herself, _Any person who could possibly believe a light purple blouse went with a baggy black pair of trousers was absolutely mad._

Daphne just nodded, trying to keep down the anger which boiled inside her.

"Read everything off this teleprompter which we've prepared. One word deviant and you will be shot." Jim demanded. He clearly must have liked the phrase "you will be shot" as this was probably the tenth time he had used it so far.

The redhead was shocked and felt angrier than she had felt in a long time. It was bad enough they were forcing her to resign from her beloved show, but to not even allow her to say something heartfelt to the fans! That was truly unforgivable!

Pushing the anger down for the moment, Daphne read what the men had prepared off of the teleprompter, as they uncomfortably pointed their guns straight at her while she spoke.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to another week of Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake! I'm your host, Daphne! This week is a truly special and heartfelt week for me and for the show, because it is my last week on the show." Daphne continued reading what the men had wrote, not knowing what she would say or how she was supposed to say her last goodbyes to the fans of the show. "My grandma and I are tragically sick, and I must go up to Florida to take care of her and myself now. She has the Foo Foo Plague and gave it to me accidentally. That's right, I'm a Foo Foo baby." Realizing the nonsensicalness of what she had just said, Daphne looked at the men in confusion and frustration. "Foo Foo Plague? What the hell?"

Both Jim and Samuel looked over at Rocko, who was laughing hysterically. Jim glared at Rocko and shouted, "Damn it Rocko, that's not funny!"

"Well, I thought it was funny, boss!" Rocko sheepishly smiled at his companions.

"You think this is some kind of joke, Rocko? If we screw this up, we could lose EVERYTHING we've worked for!" Jim's voice boiled with anger and disgust.

"C'mon boss, it was just a little joke! I won't do it again!" Rocko pleaded.

"That's right. You won't do it again." In a flash, Jim pulled out his gun and fired straight at Rocko's stomach, rendering him unconscious.

Daphne's face became aghast with horror. She knew these men were crazy, but crazy enough to kill one of their own? She suddenly felt a sinking feeling that she may not make it out of this either. Apparently noticing Daphne's shock, as if to answer her inner monologue, Jim spoke up.

"I didn't kill him! See, he's still breathing." Jim pointed at the unconscious body of Rocko, who seemed to have very labored breaths, as if that was supposed to make Daphne feel better.

As the unconscious man continued to breath heavily, Jim walked around him and went straight to the teleprompter. In a matter of minutes, Jim looked up at the terrified redhead and responded "Now the teleprompter is on the correct script. READ IT!" The man seemed to be getting angrier by the second, aggravated that his plan was taking so long to play out.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to another week of Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake! I'm your host, Daphne! This week is a truly special and heartfelt week for me and for the show, because it is my last week on the show." Daphne recognized the words which she had spoken previously, meaning Rocko had apparently only tampered with a portion of the script. "Unfortunately, my mother has been struck down with cancer, and I must go by her bedside. With the responsibility of taking care of poor, frail old mother, I can no longer keep up the show."

Despite that none of what she was saying was true, Daphne still began to get teary-eyed as she knew this was likely her last time addressing her loyal fanbase.

"I've...I've loved doing...this show and…" Unintentionally, Daphne was making her goodbye seem even more raw and real, which upon glancing over, she saw Jim was clearly pleased with due to his large smile. Pushing back drops of water from her eyes, she continued. "...I'll truly miss all of you! It has been a...pleasure entertaining you all every...week. This is Coast to Coast with...Daphne Blake, Daphne signing off."

Obnoxiously, Jim and Samuel both clapped loudly in the corner. "Nice job, nice job! How did you make those tears look so real?"

Infuriated, all that Daphne could sputter out before more tears came out was: "They WERE real!"

With a smirk, Jim answered "Well, too bad, honey. Coast to Coast is officially cancelled and now I've bribed every TV show producer in this station to give me half of their earnings! We'll be rich, Samuel, rich!"

Lost for words, all Daphne could respond was a death glare right into their souls. How dare they act this way, especially after all she had been through! The least they could do was be a tad considerate for what she was going through, even if they were crooks.

"That's all I needed to hear." A voice called from the stage balcony. "Detective Beau Neville, Crystal Cove police."

Jim's eyes looked as if he were about to blow. "WHAT? One stupid policeman can't stop me! We both are loaded to the teeth with guns!" Jim lied.

"Maybe so." Beau laughed. "Come on out, boys!"

In an instant, nine policemen, all in bulletproof suits, ran in the stage door, surrounding Jim and Samuel.

"DAMN IT!" Jim screamed in agony, knowing his intricate plan was now completely for nothing.

"The game's up, Sands. Or should I say Dan J. Sims?" Beau announced, in a revelatory voice. Seeing the redhead's confusion, he immediately elaborated on his words. "Dan J. Sims is a notorious crook who is wanted in three different states for embezzlement and kidnapping. Dan has some impressive manager credentials, but they all went down the drain when one day he decided to take advantage of his employees. In five separate jobs now, Dan has been charged with kidnapping and threatening his workers to go along with his shady scheme to take some of their salary. If they didn't listen, he fired them or threatened to harm them and their families. Dan knew we were onto him after he was fired from his fourth manager position, so he used a fake name, Jim Sands, to throw us off. You see, I've been transfered to Crystal Cove here and was assigned Dan's case. I was starting to piece the clues together at your friend Velma's bookstore with that security guard, but there was a piece missing. That is, until your friend Nick found out they were up to no good and overheard that the crooks were coming to the TV station tonight. Nick suspected something was up after he overheard pieces of Dan's interview with Samuel at the TV station."

Beau continued to talk at her and explain what Jim, or rather "Dan", was planning, but quite frankly she felt emotionally exhausted. Trying to keep up, Daphne continued listening.

"...now we've got an audio confession that you and your pal…" Beau looked on the ground, to see Rocko, still unconscious. "I mean pals, were embezzling money from the TV station and other employees. You all are going away for a long time."

Dan didn't speak, but Daphne could see the rage in his eyes.

"One more thing," Beau added, "Where's the tracking device you implanted at Daphne's house? Your lack of cooperation will only add time to your sentences."

Dan sighed, knowing there was nothing else he could do anymore. "It's in that damn blanket she took from work."

Though her relationship with her blanket was mainly silly and whimsical, Daphne still felt her heart sink a bit when she heard Dan's response. How could she not have noticed the tracker in such an obvious place?

"That's all we need out of them. Take 'em away, boys." Beau ushered for the other nine policemen to help. Two policemen restrained Dan as they handcuffed him, while another two handcuffed Samuel and lead them out the the police car. "Wait a second, guys." The other five policemen stopped when Beau spoke. "This one needs medical attention." Beau pointed at the unconscious Rocko. "Better call an ambulance, it looks like he's lost quite a bit of blood."

After finishing ordering the men around, the policemen did as they were told and went to the nearest phone. Beau quickly turned his attention to Daphne, who was quite rattled from all the hubbub.

"Need a ride home, Daphne?"

"That would be great, thanks." Daphne smiled.

The ride home was relatively uneventful. Beau continued explaining how they had discovered Dan's plans and why Daphne was targeted specifically by him, but she honestly couldn't have cared less at that point. She was tired and cranky from the kidnapping, plus she already knew a lot of the information Beau told her from what Dan had explained when she was tied to the chair.

Once they arrived at Daphne's home, Beau opened the back of the police van, and lifted Daphne's dining room chair, which had been dragged to the TV station with her tied to it, and brought it in the house. The door was still swung wide open from Dan's rush to get her out.

Glancing at the chair, Daphne admittedly was now not sure she wanted it back. The memories of what had happened alone would likely be painful, not to mention the scratches which were now present on the chair, both from the chair being dragged and her struggling on it.

Daphne was so caught in her head, she didn't notice Beau walking back towards the front door.

"You sure you don't want me to stay the night, Daphne? I would do it if it would make you feel safer."

Befuddled for a brief moment, Daphne responded, "No, I think I'll be okay. Thanks though."

"Alright, goodnight Daphne, and let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you for all your help, Beau."

"My pleasure." Beau responded as the door closed.

She wanted to give a far bigger token of thanks than a monotoned "thanks," but she needed sleep and could barely function.

Stumbling into her bedroom, she quickly changed from her atrociously mismatched clothes into a pair of purple and white pajamas and collapsed in bed. After closing her eyes for a few minutes, she opened her eyes to see a small device implanted in the blanket which she currently wore. In frustration, she tore it off and smashed it on the ground.

Once the device was safely off, she hugged the blanket and rubbed the soft fabric against her face.

"Bea, did the big bad men try to hurt you?" Daphne asked her blanket, as if she expected a response. "I love you, Bea!"

Daphne closed her eyes and tried to forget the traumatic events of her supposed "day off." Solacing herself with the idea that she wouldn't go in tomorrow, or maybe even the next day, Daphne cuddled up with Bea and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

So hopefully you've enjoyed this chapter! It certainly was a blast to write and I think it had quite a few good moments.

This is just my personal opinion, but generally when Daphne is kidnapped in the series, it tends to be a bit bland and she doesn't really do much other than try to obey whatever the kidnapper says she should do. I wanted to put a bit of a spin on this, and have Daphne be a bit sassy towards her kidnappers and make it tough for them to carry out their plans. I really enjoyed writing Daphne being feisty and just seeing how the interaction between her and her annoyed kidnappers played out when she made things difficult. The damsel-in-distress thing gets a bit old after a while, so I thought it might be a nice touch to have Daphne stand up for herself. "For now, biting was her only weapon" was probably by far my favorite and the most amusing line to write. Though of course I love writing those adorable Bea scenes lol.

As always, I did throw a couple references in there. The fictional TV show _Melbourne O'Reilly's Archeological Adventures_ is obviously a reference to the recurring What's New Scooby-Doo character Melbourne O'Reilly, who appeared in two episodes which were "3-D Struction" and "Mummy Scares Best."

And I suppose you could call this a reference. Jim/Dan's line "You see, my father was a wise man who taught me to rule not with community, not with understanding, but with force!" is very similar to Uncle Abdullah's line in "Mystery in Persia," which was an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies that featured the fictional guest star Jeannie and her apprentice genie Babu. I had just watched the episode a few days before I had written that line and I decided to throw a similar comment to Uncle Abdullah's in there, as quite frankly it fit very well with Jim/Dan's evil plan.

In addition, I'll just mention this as I'm not sure if anyone noticed it. Dan J. Sims is actually an anagram of "Jim Sands." Interesting how that name was so easily made an anagram, as I had actually thought up the Jim Sands name years ago way before I had the idea for this chapter!

And since it was mentioned in one of the reviews, I'll mention this little reference as well which a friend asked me to throw in there for her. The "Foo Foo Plague" is a joke disease from the series "Girl Meets World" in which the main character, Riley pretends to have the aforementioned disease despite it being painfully obvious she's faking it ("Cough cough! Sniffle!"). Just a fun little obscure reference I'd thought I'd throw in there for her.

Anyways hopefully you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it!


	10. Comfort Me, Dammit!

**Author's note:**

So you're probably wondering about the title for this one. I couldn't really think of a proper title for this one, so I ended up just naming it after a certain amusing comment which Daphne makes mid-way through the chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

The fall leaves rustled in the cool night air, which blew a steady gust into Daphne Blake's window. As the breeze hit the exposed skin on her face, she slowly regained consciousness from her cozy slumber.

Stretching, the redhead released herself from the wall of heat generated by the sheets and walked down the hallway of her home, which felt crisp from the fall breeze streaming in through her window. She continued to make tired, clumsy steps towards the bathroom, until she saw a black, shadowy mass in the doorway.

Nervously, she took baby steps towards her destination. Inching closer and closer, Daphne could feel the fear welling up inside her pajama-covered stomach. All of a sudden, the shadowy mass turned into the shape of a human, whose identity sent chills down Daphne's spine.

It was Jim Sands, her boss, whom she had just put in prison for kidnapping among many other crimes.

"Surprised to see me?" he grimaced.

Daphne couldn't talk or move, she just stared at the man who had consumed her thoughts ever since that dreadful night when he had kidnapped her and nearly ruined her life.

"This time, you're NOT going to ruin my plans." Jim smiled in a creepy manner, until all of a sudden, he extended his arms and lunged directly towards her.

* * *

Daphne woke up in a cold sweat, unaware she had been in a dream state. Panting to catch her breath, her mind slowly came to terms with the fact that it was indeed still the same night in which she had put Jim Sands away, and Beau Neville had only left her home a few hours ago.

Once her fear subsumed and her rational mind regained control, she instantly realized what she need: someone to talk to. She felt more alone than ever, especially once she came to the realization she didn't exactly have friends any longer which she could talk to at three in the morning. As far as she knew, Velma was still mad at her, Shaggy and her weren't exactly sure how they felt about each other after the night of cuddling at Twilight Cabin, and Fred...well, Fred was Fred. She liked Fred, but she felt they had grown apart ever since the gang split up. Besides, though she truly did care for Fred if she dug deep in her heart, Daphne didn't feel like Fred was exactly the right person who could sympathize with her about an issue like this.

The only concrete friendship she had at the moment was with her new coworker Isabel, and they had essentially just met, and the redhead didn't feel comfortable going to her house in the middle of the night. Who knows how Isabel might react, considering her extreme reaction to the incident during the Mystery Weekend.

Daphne felt too tired to think rationally about the issue, so she decided to attempt to stick it out through the night and figure out who she would talk to about her lingering fears in the morning. Pulling her beloved blanket Bea up over her head, Daphne repositioned her body until she felt fully comfortable, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The sound of the phone ringing woke the redhead up from her anxious slumber.

Glancing at the clock, which read 9:59am, she picked up the obnoxious phone and answered with a monotone-sounding "hello?"

"Hey Daph, this is Nick," her coworker responded. "I just wanted to let you know that you can have as much time as you need off. Don't worry about coming back until you're fully mentally ready."

Daphne let out a seemingly laborious "kay, sounds good," before hanging up the phone. After a long stretching and yawning session, the redhead left the comfort of her bed and very slowly got ready for the day so she at least appeared presentable.

* * *

As the red-haired female finished primping herself in front of the mirror, her mind began to wander. Who would she process the events of her night of fright through? It was no delight to think about Velma, but Daphne's conscience pushed her out of her mental comfort zone. After all, she would have to forgive Velma at some time.

Continuing to dawdle against the inevitable, Daphne began pondering what would happen if she would ask Beau Neville to talk instead of Velma. After all, he did offer to spend the night with her if she needed someone (which in hindsight, was an offer she wished she would have accepted). She preceded to battle her conscience once more, which played Devil's Advocate and reminded her that Isabel had forgiven Saggy, Dred, Thelma (even if only partially), so why shouldn't she be a good friend and go talk things out with Velma?

The redhead had to force herself to stop obsessing and before her mind could further battle her conscience, she was already outside and walking towards her car.

* * *

"Dinkley's Mystery Books" is the three words that appeared on the sign which confirmed there was no turning back now. Closing her eyes and letting out a labored sigh, Daphne got up the courage to go into her friend's bookstore.

"Velma? I need to talk with you for a second."

No answer.

She could feel the anxiety practically boiling in her throat, yet she continued walking through the doorway of the brunette's bookstore.

The bookstore was packed with all kinds of literature, mysteries for children, mysteries for adults, horror books, and everything mysterious in between. It hurt Daphne's eyes seeing the thousands of titles which jumped off the covers at her. Glancing upwards, the redhead noticed a TV set, which had quite a fuzzy picture which appeared to need fixing. Oddly, the TV appeared to be tuned to a Spanish channel, as the screen showed a middle-aged Mexican man in fancy dress, with the words "¡Muy importante!" flashing on screen every few seconds. It befuddled Daphne why Velma would have a Spanish language channel on, but she supposed maybe it was a mistake.

"Welcome to Dinkley's Mystery Books, how may I - "

While walking out from the back storage area, Velma stopped her sentence when she realized whom she was speaking to.

"Velma, just let me explain!" Daphne pleaded.

"Actually, Daph, I was going to try to stop by the TV station to talk to you the other day. I've thought our argument through a little more and I want to apologize."

Daphne's spirits immediately lifted, knowing Velma wasn't going to verbally jump on her explanations like she had their past few encounters.

"I'm sorry I didn't think this through better the first time, but honestly, I was caught in the heat of the moment. I shouldn't have accused you of being greedy, but -"

"But what?" Daphne fired back, feeling like she was about to be attacked.

"You've changed since our trip up to Moonscar Island. You know, it seemed like the gang was going to get back together, but then you walked off to do your show again and left us behind as friends." Velma responded, in the calmest voice she could muster.

"Solving mysteries is fun, but it's just not profitable. Don't get me wrong here, I love solving mysteries. But put it in perspective here. If you had the option to solve mysteries, or have a super successful career as a TV host, which would you have chosen?" Daphne said, in a civil yet somewhat defensive manner.

"That's the issue. I would always choose friends, even if Bill Gates offered me a position as co-owner of Microsoft tomorrow. Money isn't an object with me. I'd rather live poor than live without friends."

"But...but...am I not allowed to pursue my dreams? We all agreed at one point that we were bored with the ghosts and monsters just being people in masks. Mystery solving with you all was the most wonderful thing I've done, but times changes. Solving mysteries was a big part of my life when I was younger, but we're growing up now, and I have my own dreams." Daphne explained, "And in my defense, I did agree to solve mysteries with you guys when I'm not working on my TV show."

"I said it then and I'll say it now, it's just not the same, Daph. I'm sorry I accused you of being greedy and trying to exploit me and my bookstore for your TV show, but I still think we all have different priorities now. Your priority is obviously your show, or you would've come to see me, and all of us more. Instead, we get these flighty visits from you every once in a while, and then you disappear to do your show again."

"So I'm not allowed to have goals in life?"

"No one's saying that, Daphne! I think it's wonderful you're pursuing your dreams. It's just that we've grown apart is all. It's nothing different from what we all went through before we went to Moonscar Island, around that time when Shaggy and Scooby had the jobs at the airport. I suppose it's only natural." Velma paused for a moment, while she thought of what she wanted to say next. "I'm so happy for you that you're doing what you love, Daph. It's just...I don't feel as close to you anymore. The five of us, as a gang, we used to be so tight-knit. Now we barely talk anymore. Don't you miss the good old days, Daph?"

"Of course, Velms! But I'm happy in what I'm doing now, and mystery solving just isn't something I want to be as big of a part in my life anymore. But, that doesn't mean we can't still be close friends!"

"That's just it, Daphne, like I said, I don't feel close to any of the gang anymore, especially you."

Unintentionally, Daphne had a puppy-dog look on her face in shock of what her friend, at least someone she considered her friend, had just told her.

"Does that mean you don't want to be friends anymore?" Daphne asked, bracing herself for the worst.

"No, no! Of course I want to be friends, but it's just…" Velma struggled to find the right words. "Our argument cemented that I don't feel very close to you anymore. I still want to be your friend, it will just take a lot of time to heal this issue. When the gang left, I was truly hurt that we didn't keep in touch more. That takes more than a day to heal."

Though Velma's argument was very rational and reasonable, Daphne still felt a mix of poutiness and anger over the brunette's words.

"I hope that's okay." Velma added, when she noticed Daphne was seemingly not giving any response.

"Well, sure Velma. We don't have to be friends if you don't want. I'll just leave you alone while you heal."

"Daphne, don't do this again! We can talk this out!"

"No, I think you've made your feelings about me quite clear." Daphne replied, trying to sound as reserved as possible. "Drop me a line once you heal!"

With her purple heels clicking on the tile floor, Daphne walked out in a semi-pouty fashion and got in her car. As the redhead drove away, Velma let out a big sigh, hoping her friend would come to her senses soon and think rationally about the manner.

* * *

 _Well, that didn't work._ Daphne thought.

She had gotten so frustrated with Velma's remarks, she had almost forgotten that she still needed to process through yesterday's events with someone. She was too worked up to visit Shaggy, as she didn't know how to rationally handle their cuddle-fest without feeling awkward or angry with herself. That just left Beau and Isabel, which was quite a tough decision for the redhead to make.

The tough decision quickly became outrageously easy when she realized that Beau would likely be at work, and it would be incredibly awkward for her to go into a police station and ask if she could talk through her anxiety with one of the detectives.

She then realized Isabel would likely be at work too, meaning she would have to go into work despite that she had told them she wasn't coming in for a while.

Reluctantly, Daphne drove into the TV station and walked down the hallway towards Isabel's office. She was surprised by how many people stopped and asked her if she was alright, to which she lied and said she was fine.

Just as she was nearly away from the distracting people and to Isabel's office, Nick stopped her.

"Daphne? I didn't think you would come in today!"

"I didn't think I would either." Daphne replied matter-of-factly, at this point just wanting to get to Isabel's office and let her boiling emotions out.

"So, are you already going to start on the next show?" Nick questioned, which oddly annoyed Daphne.

"No, I'm going to be an emotional volcano and explode all over Isabel." she said in a sarcastic tone, despite that she knew that was actually probably what was going to happen.

"Sounds like fun, can I join?" Nick replied, though she couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic in return or not.

"Well, it would be nice to have a second person to talk to." the redhead stated.

Nick's response confirmed that he was initially being sarcastic. "Well...sure, as your trusted coworker and semi-friend, I'd be happy to be consumed by lava which is your angsty emotions!"

The duo quickly reached their coworkers' office and immediately caught sight of Isabel's vibrant hair, which was still blue just as it was when Daphne had last seen her.

"Daphne! I heard about what happened to you! I'm SO sorry! What can I do?"

Daphne's emotional volcano was boiling over causing her to be unable to think of what to say. In an instant, the volcano exploded when Daphne said the only thing she could think of to say: "Comfort me, dammit!"

"Awww!" the familiar squeak in Isabel's voice gave Daphne a bit of comfort. The blue-haired girl got out of her swivel chair and wrapped her arms around Daphne. Isabel's grip around her was a bit too tight, yet it felt strangely comforting to have another human's pressure around her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Daphne apologized. "I didn't mean to blow up like that. You probably have a lot of work to do."

"I'm pretty much caught up right now. What I'm doing right now can wait. Besides, I'd love nothing better than to be the recipient of your teenage-like angst!"

Daphne wasn't sure if Isabel was joking or not, but nonetheless she was more than ready to get her inner thoughts out about the incident.

"You can just lay down on the couch over there." Isabel pointed to the blue couch which was adjacent to her desk. "Nick...um...you can have my chair."

"No, it's fine. I can stand, otherwise you have nowhere to sit." Nick said.

"I can just sit on the couch with Daph. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't let her use me as a pillow?!"

Though the idea of laying her head on Isabel was a bit odd, Daphne found her blue-haired friend's remarks to be quite adorable.

Lifting her head up for a minute, the redhead let her friend sit down before laying her head on Isabel's leg. Though the position was quite awkward, physically and socially, Daphne soon found comfort in her human pillow. While the human contact was comforting, she felt Isabel's flowery-scented perfume to be quite an overpowering smell. Not wanting to make her friend feel bad, Daphne avoided saying anything and continued to prop her head up on her friend's leg.

* * *

By the time Daphne got to the end of her story, tears were running down her face (and Isabel's leg, for that matter) as she told them of how Jim and his henchmen had forced her to nearly quit her television show.

"Daph, that's horrible." Nick responded sympathetically.

"That's so demeaning! I can't believe they would force you to do all that stuff! And even worse, being tied up and gagged the entire time!" Isabel said, who had gotten almost as emotional as Daphne.

"Thanks, guys. Can I sit up now?" Daphne asked, still feeling awkward.

"Yeah, sure! Whatever you want." Isabel said in a very relaxed manner.

Though she knew Isabel was a very touchy-feely person who loved to feel physically close to her friends through hugging and touching, Daphne really enjoyed her personal space and always felt claustrophobic being too close to another human.

Just when she felt like she had finally escaped Isabel's closeness, her perky friend suggested "do you wanna cuddle or something? Cuddling always makes me feel better!"

Daphne shivered at the thought of that. She presumed Isabel thought of cuddling as a friend gesture, but Daphne very rarely cuddled with anyone and generally considered it to be a romantic gesture.

"No, I'm okay." Daphne said, hoping her friend wouldn't persist.

"Cuddle me, dammit!" Isabel said jokingly, mirroring Daphne's comment when she had entered her office, as the blue-haired girl pressed her side firmly against Daphne's on the couch.

"Seriously, can you NOT touch me please?" Daphne snapped. "We're not dating, so you don't have to be all up in my personal space!"

Isabel look taken aback and quickly moved her body away from Daphne's.

"Daphne, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything like that; I was just joking! I just like cuddling with my friends to feel closer to them is all!" Isabel said in a very innocent manner, making Daphne immediately guilty for flying off the handle.

"I'm sorry, I'm just sensitive after what happened. Thanks for trying to be an awesome friend, Isabel."

Disliking the serious tone of the mood, Nick stepped up and said "But what if I wanted to cuddle?" in a joking tone.

"I've got that covered!" Isabel chirped.

"I was kidding!" Nick said, rolling his eyes at Isabel's eagerness to cuddle.

"Sorry, I'm a shameless cuddler. I'll cuddle with anyone I can!" Isabel replied in very bubbly tone, making her seem even more adorable. "Seriously though Daph, what can we do for you?"

They had actually already done a lot. It was amazing how much simply getting the haunting thoughts out of her head had relieved her and made her feel less alone in the world.

"I don't want to be awkward, but would you be willing to stay over a night or so, Isabel? I've been having these nightmares and…"

"Of course!" Isabel smiled.

"Just remember Daph, Jim is locked up for good and the experience is over. If you should take anything from the kidnapping, it's that you're stronger than ever before."

Nick's comment was quite cheesy, but it did give Daphne a sense of comfort.

"Thanks guys for all the help. I think I've talked as much as I can talk about this now, but I'll let you know if I never need to process through something again. This will probably take awhile to get over, so…"

Suddenly, it hit her. This was what Velma was feeling. Not angry, not jealous, but hurt. The redhead finally understood why her friend had been acting the way she was, and it felt glorious to finally comprehend the concept.

"So...what?" Nick asked, confused as to why his coworker had paused in the middle of her sentence.

"So, I need to get over to see another friend and let her know I'm alright."

"That's my Daph! Yeah! Girl power!" Isabel shouted randomly.

When silence overtook the room, the blue-haired girl immediately followed her comment up with "Too much?"

Nick nodded, trying not to laugh. "Too much." He confirmed with a smirk.

* * *

The crisp autumn air blew Daphne's hair around as she walked into the familiar bookstore which she had been in so many times.

"Velma?"

"Daphne! I was hoping you'd come back."

"I just wanted to say I know what you're feeling now, and I understand." Daphne humbly declared.

"I'm glad you did. I figured you'd come to your senses at some point." Velma replied in a matter-of-fact yet cold way.

"I also wanted to say, I understand if you need a while away from me."

"It's not that, Daph, I love your company. It's just, I won't feel as close to you for a while. I feel detached from you, if you want to put it that way. I want our friendship to be like it was though. Someday."

Daphne sighed, before realizing her friend was right. She didn't feel quite as close to Velma anymore either, but she didn't feel like she could control that.

"Someday." Daphne smiled, as she closed the door to the bookstore, causing the bell above the door to ding.

* * *

Another ding, different from the one in the bookstore, sounded as Daphne walked up to answer the door. A familiar cheerful voice greeted her when the door swung open.

"Hi!" Isabel said, as she dragged a purple suitcase behind her, which appeared to be the same one she brought up to Cerrie Mansion a few weeks before. "Where should I put this?"

"Just in the guest room is fine." Daphne pointed to a room with the door propped open, which upon far away glance prominently featured a large queen-size bed and a black nightstand.

"Aw, you mean we don't get to cuddle?" Isabel smirked.

"Don't push it, blue dude." Daphne responded, mirroring that same comment Saggy had said one morning to Isabel when she was acting cold and unaffected during the Mystery Weekend event.

Isabel giggled, before wheeling her suitcase into the room.

While watching her friend's figure disappear into the guest room, Daphne had a sudden realization: Isabel is a closer friend right now than Velma! She let the thought bounce around in her mind for a few seconds, pondering how odd it sounded considering her and Velma had been friends since they were young, yet she had only known Isabel not more than a few weeks.

"I brought a movie over!" Isabel chirped, causing Daphne to laugh internally at how her perky friend could turn any comment into sounding like she just won the lottery.

"Hmmm…'Lorde Sumley's House of Horrors?' Sounds intriguing."

"Well, I brought this one too." Isabel held up another DVD, which read 'Yogi Bear and the Arabian Nights.'

"No, I bet it's just some rip-off movie where Yogi's in it for 10 minutes and the rest of it is just filler!" Daphne said snarkily.

"House of Horrors it is then!" Isabel carefully grabbed the DVD out of the case and put it in the player, whilst Daphne sat down across from the screen on the living room couch.

* * *

As the movie finished, Isabel perkily jumped out of the seat next to Daphne on the couch and grabbed the DVD.

"Awesome, right?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, if that were real, it would be an awesome attraction to visit for my show."

"It is real though!" Isabel chirped, "There's a house up in Michigan of a famous horror actor, Lorde Sumley, which has all that spooky stuff. Thelma, Saggy, Dred and I wanted to go there actually, right before our gang disbanded."

"Oh, awesome!" Daphne said, suddenly unintentionally copying her friend's excitement. "We should totally take a road trip there someday!"

"Someday? Why not now? If there's anything you need right now, it's a distraction from the Jim Sands incident, and this is the perfect time! Let's go tonight!"

 _Tonight?_ She loved her blue-haired buddy's confidence to always try something new, but going at 9 at night didn't exactly line up with her weary body's wishes.

"Well…" Daphne lied, "I was going to do something with Velma tomorrow, so I'm not sure I can." Daphne hated directly fibbing to her new friend, but she really wasn't in the mood to go on a cross-country drive in the middle of the night.

"You and Velma are friends again?!" Isabel asked, her voice squeaking with excitement.

"Yeah, we patched things up this afternoon actually." Though it wasn't entirely true, to be fair she didn't exactly direct-out lie to her friend again. They had sort of come to an agreement about what one another felt.

"Cool, you should ask Velma to come with! Maybe you could invite the rest of the gang too!"

Daphne almost said "ugh" instinctively, as it was the direct opposite of what she wanted, but she gave up her tired mind's pride and agreed to go over to the gang's houses and leave in the morning.

"I'll be back later tonight, Iz." Daphne stated with a disgruntled tone, still not fully accepting of what she was about to do so late at night.

"Kay-kay! See you soon, Daph!" Isabel smiled, looking as if she were about to explode with jittery ecstaticness.

* * *

She hadn't been to Velma's house in a very long time, but she figured it was the most logical place her friend would be so late in the evening.

Walking up the porch stairs to the house which Velma was renting, Daphne was taken aback by the beauty of the old house. For a rental house, it was almost unheard of how well kept-up it looked by all its previous occupants. It even had a hint of Victorian beauty, which Daphne had always had a passion for. The stairs squeaked a bit as she walked up, surprising the redhead considering how nice the rest of the house looked. Once she approached the door, she rang the doorbell which was a very fancy model, with an elegant wood border around it.

"Daphne? What are you doing here?" Velma asked, looking confused as to why her friend would visit her at her house. As far as she could remember, the redhead had only visited the bookstore for as long as the gang had broken up.

Daphne giggled a bit with nervousness. "This is a funny story, but you know how we were talking about mysteries this afternoon?"

The brunette simply motioned a nod with her head, as if to instruct her friend to keep talking.

"My new friend at work, Isabel, wants to go on a mystery trip with me for my show, and…" Daphne got nervous upon the mention of her show. She didn't want to mention it once again, as Velma had just accused her of being too consumed by the responsibilities of being a television host.

She continued, with a brief pause between her last thought, "...I was wondering if you might want to come with?"

Velma stared blankly for a brief moment, until she realized she was zoned out, and looked at her redheaded friend. "Well, um...I don't want you to get the wrong idea here, but I can't just close the bookstore on such short notice. There are 10 special orders coming in tomorrow alone, not to mention all of my customers. Sorry, Daph."

Though she was a bit rattled by the orange-turtlenecked woman's comment towards her, Daphne replied "No, I totally get it. We can take a trip another time when I have time to give you more notice."

"I'm really sorry, Daph. I hope you and your friend Isabel still have fun!" Velma replied back, with a bit of sadness in her voice, knowing she had hurt her friend by her cold and impersonal demeanor.

"We will!" Daphne said, at this point just trying to stretch the conversation so it didn't end awkwardly.

* * *

Driving to Fred's apartment was certainly nothing Daphne was looking forward to. After Velma's reaction, she had no idea how Fred would take to the idea of working as a team again to solve a mystery.

The apartment complex was nice but modest. It appeared well maintained, but there were still certain aspects which didn't appeal to Daphne, such as the small storage units next to the complex and the chintzy wooden door which appeared to lead into the main entryway. The redhead got out of her car, and shivered in her short-sleeved shirt in the cold fall breeze. She always seem to over or under-dress for the weather, despite her otherwise terrific fashion sense.

Daphne pulled on the creaky wooden door into the complex, and was greeted only by the sight of a button with a large sign stating "INTERCOM" in all caps.

Unsure if she was doing the right thing, as she had also never visited Fred's apartment (which he got after the gang broke up) before, Daphne pressed the intercom button and was met with a nasally, grumpy-sounding woman's voice.

"Who are you here to see?" her voice authoritatively stated.

"Fred Jones." Daphne spoke, trying to meet the woman's crankiness with a civil tone.

"What apartment?"

"I don't know the apartment number, if that's what you mean. Can you look it up?"

Daphne could have sworn she heard the woman let out an annoyed sigh, before finally muttering "yeah."

"He's in apartment 199 on floor 8." the woman snarkily replied.

"Okay, thanks. Have a good day."

The lady didn't reply, but instead pressed the button which unlocked the door. The buzzer let off an ear-piercing screech from right above Daphne's ear.

Daphne walked up the stairs to get to the eighth floor which had apartments, but discovered Fred already waiting for her at the top of stairs on the fourth floor.

"Daphne! It's so nice to see you! How are you?"

It caught Daphne off-guard to see Fred being so rational and caring about someone else's feelings. This was a completely different Fred from the awkward, silly one which accompanied her and the rest of the gang to Moonscar Island, not to mention the Fred she'd known just a month ago who had fallen for a ridiculous email scam.

"Oh, yeah, I'm good!" Daphne vocalized finally, coming out of her mouth a bit more awkward than she intended. "I just came here to let you know that Isabel, the new girl at the TV station, is taking me on a mystery trip!"

"That's awesome, Daphne!" Fred replied, sounding as if he were excited, though she wasn't sure if it was exclusively for her or simply because of the possibility that he may be able to come along.

"Do you want to come with? We'd love to have another person along for the ride!"

"Sorry, Daph, but I have to participate in the search committee all this week for a replacement for Jim. I heard he got fired because he was making prohibited liquor in the company toilets!" Fred said, sounding completely serious.

 _Yep,_ Daphne thought, _There was the Internet scam believing, monkey assistant hiring person who she remembered from a few weeks back._

"Uh, you know he kidnapped me right?" Daphne said, hands on her hips in disgust.

"Of course, Daph. I was just kidding."

She loved Fred dearly as a friend just as she always had, but he had a very odd demeanor and sense of humor sometimes.

"So, what happened to your chimp assistants?" Daphne asked, awkwardly trying to change the subject.

"Who told you that? I said that to someone that as a joke!" Fred answered with a dumbfounded look on his face.

This caused Daphne to ponder if the whole being an Internet sucker thing was a joke as well. Maybe Fred wasn't as dumb as she had come to believe in recent weeks.

"Well, I'll see you later, Fred." Daphne finally broke the long silence which ensued when she was zoned out, lost in her thoughts.

"Yeah, see you later, Daph. Let me know if you ever need to talk about the whole Jim incident."

"I will, enjoy your committee!" Daphne immediately regretted the last three words she had said, as it wasn't exactly the best way to respond to her friend who was clearly concerned about her. Maybe she was the one who was lost and confused, not Fred.

* * *

The wind swayed in the trees near Shaggy's house, which was a small, cozy looking home. The house was covered in what Daphne considered an ugly beige paint, and appeared to only be single level. She supposed it was all he could afford, considering him and Scooby were bouncing between jobs so much in recent months.

Daphne walked up the narrow pathway to Shaggy's home which was nestled between a few rosebushes and other plants which she couldn't identify.

Daphne knocked on the beige-colored door (which in her opinion, completely clashed with the house), which was quickly answered by a smiling Shaggy and Scooby.

"Hey, Daph! Didn't know you were coming, I would've baked a cake! Want anything to eat?" Shaggy asked. That was just like Shaggy, always thinking about the next time he would be eating.

"No, it's okay. I just wanted to talk for a bit." Daphne replied humbly.

"Oh…" Shaggy seemed offput by this comment for a reason the redheaded TV hostess couldn't identify.

Much to Daphne's relief, the odd silence between them was broken by Scooby's happy voice.

"Ri Raphne!" Scooby said, his tail wagging back and forth with excitement.

"Hey Scooby! Great to see you again!"

"Reah! Rot any Rooby Racks?" Scooby said, looking hopeful.

"Oh yeah, like, we just ran out this afternoon! I would go get some at the store, but you know, like, the job world calls!" Shaggy answered.

Daphne took the vague comment from her goateed friend to mean he hadn't found a job yet and thus didn't have enough money to purchase another box of Scooby Snacks.

Ironically, Daphne did have a box which she had forgotten about until now in her car. "Actually, I do, out in my car. I've been saving these Scooby Snacks for a long time!"

Daphne handed Scooby her car keys, and much to Scooby's happiness, he bounded out to Daphne's vehicle to enjoy a tantalizing treat.

"Why don't we sit down on the couch, Daph? You can have the seat by the window." Shaggy suggested.

Daphne sat down on the soft cushion, the draft blowing right into her face. She frankly didn't really like the seating location, as the breeze made her even colder and it was hard to hear what Shaggy said over the howl of the wind.

"So, like, what did you you want to talk about Daph?" Shaggy asked, awaiting a response.

She would have responded, but she couldn't hear a word her friend said over the gusts coming in through the window screen. Not wanting to offend Shaggy by saying the seat he offered wasn't good enough for her, she simply leaned forward closer towards his face.

The green-shirted man just stared blankly for a moment, as if he had seen a ghost. All of a sudden, reacting to Daphne's movement closer, Shaggy moved a little closer, then a little bit more closer, and before either of them knew it, Shaggy's lips were touching the redhead's.

For a brief moment, the two young adults seemingly didn't react at all, until Daphne pulled away after a few seconds of lip contact.

"Like, I'm so sorry, Daph! I'm so sorry! It's just, like, I got nervous, and you leaned in, and I thought with what happened that night at Twilight Cabin…" Shaggy's anxious babbling was only stopped by Daphne opening her mouth to speak.

Anxiety welling up again in her throat, Daphne blurted out. "It's okay. I...I liked it." She immediately regretted her response, but it was inevitably the truth.

"Like...like...what is it you wanted to tell me?" Shaggy quickly changed the subject, apparently unable to handle what he had just heard.

"Oh...my new friend Isabel and I are going on a trip together, so I won't be around Coolsville for a little while." Daphne commented nervously.

To make things even more awkward for the flustered friends, Scooby came in from Daphne's car at that moment. "Ranks, Raphne!"

"Yeah...you're welcome...well, I've got to go now! Isabel's waiting! Bye!" Her words came out clumsily and painfully awkward, like you see from a confused teenager trying to talk to their crush.

"Yeah, see you Daph!" Shaggy said, his words coming out faster than normal.

The last thing Daphne saw before Shaggy closed the door behind her was a befuddled look on Scooby's face. She didn't want to concern herself with the worry of if Shaggy would tell Scooby of what had occurred while he was out in the car.

As the breeze blew Daphne's hair while she got in her car, she wondered if Shaggy had enjoyed their kiss as much as she did.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

And there's the part where you say "Awww!"

So hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. Admittedly when I first started it, I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go with Daphne's "recovery" from the incident. In my opinion it turned out just the right amount of time, yet still hinting that Daphne was still feeling some feelings of anxiety from the traumatic event. After all, you don't exactly see people who have gone through traumatizing events just instantly recover.

I suppose I should mention something about what happened at the end of the chapter as well. Despite what you may think at this point, I personally am not a Shaphne (Shaggy/Daphne) shipper. Though I'll admit there are some very interesting and valid theories out there about the two potentially being a couple, particularly in the 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, I'm aware there is plenty of Shaphne fanfiction which come up with completely ridiculous scenarios of the two being together, many of which are completely against both characters' nature. If anything, the Shaggy/Daphne relationship will be a very minor subplot in this fanfic, if you even want to call it a relationship (as technically, neither have really admitted they like each other yet). Just think of it as two friends experimenting to see if their relationship as friends extends to something more, after all you do occasionally hear about friends wondering if they want to be 'more than friends' so to speak in real life. I am very committed to keeping both Shaggy and Daphne completely in-character, so you don't have to worry about me rubbing the relationship in your face.

And hey, if you still feel like it's going to be unbearable to see the two of them in a relationship, feel free to leave a review or PM me. I'm totally open to hear suggestions or ideas if you feel I could handle it in a better way.

Before I get into the references, I'd like to also briefly answer a few questions I received via PM between the time of posting this chapter and the last. Though I did answer both of the PMs, I'd like to include my explanation here as well in case others have the same questions (as quite frankly, they were both really good questions!).

 _"Your addition of Daphne's new friend Isabel is interesting, but I can't really tell if you want us as readers to see her as dumb or just socially awkward?"_

Socially awkward, maybe. However, Isabel isn't meant to be 'dumb' or uneducated. From my perspective as the writer, I see her as someone with a really positive outlook on life, though she has a very quirky personality. She was intended to be complement the part of Daphne's personality which felt confused and friendless - Isabel is one of those types of people who are all about just being yourself and not worrying about what other people think of you. Daphne admires Isabel for embracing her quirks and feels the desire to have a free-spirited friend who helps her embrace her identity just like Isabel is able to do.

Speaking of dumb (and unrelated to the above question), I made the decision to tone Fred down a bit. While his silly personality was somewhat amusing, I realized that I made him a bit _too_ silly to the point of being almost out-of-character. Hopefully my explanation for the monkey assistant thing made sense - it was just my way of trying to explain why Fred behaved the way he did and trying to put him back in character, so to speak.

 _"I really am enjoying your fanfic and writing style so far, but I can't help but feel the story would be a little better if the gang appeared more often."_

I've actually debated on including the gang on a more regular basis, but I think you'll find there is an overarching story arc here as to why the gang shows up as minimally as they do. I don't want to ruin anything, but it has to do with the fact that every group of friends has something that causes them to gel, whether it's a shared interest, a common personality trait or even simply the fact that every person has their own understanding of how they 'fit' in that group. Though the fanfic is mainly Daphne-centric, you'd be surprised how important they are to the end of the story!

Hopefully those answers clarified things for anyone wondering, but as always feel free to leave a review or send me a PM if you have any comments, questions or suggestions!

As always, I did manage to slip several references into this chapter, but since some of them are a bit obscure I'll list them off here again:

A tad bit of word-play with this quote: "Who would she process the events of her **night of fright** through? It was **no delight** to think about Velma…" is a reference to original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" series episode which is entitled "A Night of Fright is No Delight."

Another bit of word (or rather number) play regarding the number of Fred's apartment and the floor number. Apartment 199 on floor 8 combined is 1998, which is the year "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" came out.

This is an incredibly obscure reference from an episode of a show called Family Guy entitled "Internal Affairs." The show which was on the TV in Velma's bookstore, "¡Muy Importante!", is a reference to a fictional show which essentially satirizes the fact that pretty much any random idea gets a TV show now days, no matter how ridiculous or simplistic. The show is essentially comprised of five second footage of a Mexican businessman walking to various meetings or business matters with Latin music playing in the background, and after the five second clip, the studio audience randomly shouts "¡Muy importante!" (meaning "very important" in Spanish - the joke being how incredibly irrelevant and unnecessary the show is as it literally has no point whatsoever). I mainly included the reference for the silliness (not the satirization part), though I've probably taken the fun out of the joke by having to boringly explain it. At the time of posting this, I believe the 30-second clip of the scene I'm referencing is on YouTube if you want to watch it for yourself.

The movie "Lorne Chumley's House of Horrors" is a reference to The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode entitled "The Exterminator," which featured the gang and guest star Don Knotts exterminating bugs in the house of a famous movie star Lorne Chumley.

As for the other movie with Yogi Bear and Daphne's comment about how the movie was probably "just some rip-off movie where Yogi's in it for 10 minutes and the rest of it is just filler!," hopefully know which certain Scooby movie I'm referring to here *cough* Arabian Nights *cough*


	11. The House of Howling Spirits

It had been a long night of strange interactions, unexpected kisses, and most dreadedly, the line of questioning from her perky blue-haired friend about what had taken her so long and what had happened when she visited her three other friends.

Daphne felt more than ecstatic to put the odd night behind her, and she finally could, thanks to the morning sunbeams reflecting off of her vibrant red hair.

But today opened a new chapter of uncertainty - a long road trip with Isabel. The redhead had certainly enjoyed the previous trip with her friend, but the thought of all the colorful twists and turns - particularly one which was colored blue, symbolizing Isabel's rebellious hair-dying incident - gave her feelings of caution.

Still emotionally and physically tired, Daphne ran her hands through her hair before rolling out of bed. Letting out several big stretches, the redhead yawned several times; her exaggerated movements only confirming her slight sense of anxiety regarding the upcoming trip which would almost immediately start off her day.

After getting herself dressed, Daphne closed the window before walking out of the now-drafty bedroom.

"Hi Daph!" a familiar cheery voice called.

Daphne nearly jumped ten feet before realizing that the voice came from Isabel, who she had allowed to stay the night in the guest room.

"Morning." Daphne said in a groggy voice, rubbing her eyes gently. Daphne's eyes readjusted to the morning light just as Isabel walked into her line of vision. Apparently just getting out of the shower, Isabel's hair was still soaking wet, and her face had several small teardrops of water from where she had missed drying with her towel, which was currently wrapped snugly around her body.

Feeling like she should follow Isabel's example and be more pleasant, Daphne spoke up and continued talking as if she it were still part of her previous mumbled comment. "So, when do you want to leave?"

"Maybe like an hour or so?" Isabel answered, "Just let me finish drying my hair and we can talk about what we each have left to do."

Daphne's jaw nearly dropped when Isabel unwrapped the towel from her body to dry her hair off, before realizing her friend was wearing a t-shirt under the towel. The purple t-shirt was quite oversized and went halfway down to her knees, as to cover any private areas which Daphne quite frankly didn't really want to see.

However, Daphne found herself oddly surprised about how nice of a figure Isabel had. Generally, her friend always wore clothes which were a bit looser and didn't really show off much of any part of her body. Not to mention that she never really paid close attention to Isabel's physical appearance; after all, she thought of Isabel as a friend and didn't really care how she presented herself physically. Though the shirt didn't reveal any shocking parts of Isabel, Daphne still had to push back a bit of jealousy when she noticed how firmly the t-shirt hugged her friend's figure, showing off her ridiculously many curves. The redhead was glad Isabel felt comfortable enough to dress in what she wanted without creating any awkwardness between the two, but Daphne wished she could have as nice of a body as her friend apparently did.

"You ready to go, Daph?"

"Yep, Iz. Just finishing curling my hair!"

The only answer Daphne received was her friend's footsteps and the dragging of a suitcase across the hardwood floor. The redheaded girl finished curling her hair in a matter of minutes and walked out to affirm she was ready.

"You know, I've never gotten why women need to curl their hair. It looks way more natural when people just leave it straight. Just look at me, for example."

Daphne rolled her eyes at her friend's comment, thinking back to how apparently easy it was for her friend to have an amazingly curvy figure.

Speaking of curvy figures, Daphne noticed that Isabel had ditched the t-shirt and put on a dark brown jacket, which had an appearingly-soft inner white lining. Black boots covered her feet, which were complimented by a pair of gray sweatpants. Around her neck lay a soft, gray scarf which seemed to be hand-knitted, though she wasn't sure if it was by Isabel or some random other store which her friend had bought it from. The outfit was a lot more fancy than what Daphne was currently wearing, jeans and a white t-shirt which donned her show's logo on it, with some plain white socks and tennis shoes. Trying not to get back in the jealousy cycle (even if her friend was wearing an outfit which looked as soft and comfortable as wearing five chinchillas), Daphne quickly grabbed her suitcase and asked Isabel if she had grabbed the redhead's house keys.

"You sure you want to go out looking like that, racoon eyes?"

Confused by her friend's thinly veiled insult, Daphne grabbed a mirror from her suitcase, to reveal she had majorly overdone her eyeshadow.

"Here, I'll show you how to do it." Isabel grabbed the eyeshadow out of her own bag and carefully applied it around her eyes. Amazingly, somehow the eyeshadow made Isabel look even better, in a mysterious way.

"I know how to apply it! I AM eyeshadow!" Daphne quickly realized her comment made no sense. "Or, I mean…"

Isabel giggled, before stating "No, I don't want to hear what you meant to say. That was adorable!"

Too annoyed to see the comedy in her wording mistake, Daphne snatched the eyeshadow out of Isabel's hand (not realizing it was actually Isabel's eyeshadow to begin with...Daphne's was still in her bag) and walked into the bathroom in a huff.

From the bathroom, Daphne could hear her friend mimicking her amusing mistake, saying "I AM eyeshadow!" in a faux-deep and superhero-like voice.

"Are you done with the superhero antics, Commander Cool?" Daphne said as she came out of the bathroom, annoyed at the fact that she was being teased, even if it was just in fun.

"No, I'm doing quite a good job amusing myself, thank you." Isabel replied.

"NOW who's adorable?" Daphne put her hands on her hips, smirking that she had seemingly made the tables turn.

"Still you. Now, are we leaving or not?"

"Yes, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

"Jeez, someone's cranky today." Daphne's perky friend seemed suddenly annoyed with her foul mood.

"Sorry, it's just, I feel like I should be taking this trip with the gang. You know, I've never taken a mystery-solving trip besides the Mystery Weekend one without them."

"No, it's cool. I get it. I'll try to behave and leave you alone." Isabel said, her perpetually perky tone getting slightly colder.

"No...you don't have to do that. This is our trip, and besides, we're still pretty new friends. I'd like to get to know you a little more." Daphne stated calmly, trying to deescalate her previously hostile tone.

"I'd love to know you more too. Bring it in and let's hug on it!"

Daphne eyed her friend, that clearly not being the response she expected.

"My name is Isabel and I have a problem!" Isabel said in a silly manner, though feeling slightly guilty for always wanting hugs as reassurance.

"Okay, fine, hugs it is." Daphne unfolded her arms, which were positioned tightly across her chest, unconsciously signifying her current closed-off mentality. Isabel wrapped her arms around Daphne in a firm manner, so tightly in fact that Daphne felt a slight bit of pain. Isabel was usually gentle, but she definitely didn't mess around when it came to hugs!

* * *

Daphne drove her car out of the driveway after Isabel had loaded all her belongings and hopped in. In a few brief seconds, the redhead noticed something different about her friend which she somehow hadn't noticed previously - Isabel didn't have blue hair anymore.

Without taking a moment to consider whether to internalize or externalize her thought process, Daphne blurted. "Oh, now it makes sense! You were showering because you were washing the dye out of your hair!"

Isabel snickered, before responding "You just noticed that?"

In hindsight, Daphne didn't really mean to say her thought aloud and scrambled to think of something to reply. "Well, to be fair, I was more surprised you weren't wearing any pants!"

"You make it sound like I was flashing myself naked in front of you. Nothing was showing!"

Daphne couldn't tell if Isabel was jokingly arguing with her or actually frustrated, but nonetheless she was enjoying the presumably fake argument.

"Except...all your curves! How many do you have, like 100?"

"Damn it! You figured out my plan! I was going to show you my curvy body and watch you drool in jealousy!"

That was certainly a new one for Daphne.

The two friends finally cracked and burst into laughter over their silliness.

"Drool in jealousy?" Daphne asked, still giggling.

"Oh admit it, you were jealous!"

Daphne wouldn't admit it, even in fun, though she was a bit jealous.

"I don't know why I even worried. This is turning out to be an awesome...and amusing...trip!" Daphne finally let loose and tried to forget her worries about leaving the gang behind. She told herself that this was only one trip, and it wasn't going to affect her friendship with the gang. Well, at least not any more than it already had been affected from the gang's disbandment.

"I've gotta ask, Iz, do you ever miss your gang?"

"Yeah, I so love being called a bitch!" Isabel said sarcastically, reminding herself of the scarring time where her so-called friends actually did use this term in reference to her. Noticing her straight-faced friend was very unamused, the blonde quickly changed her tone to a more serious one. "I mean, I miss them, of course. But, I see it more as a learning experience I guess. Those people were supposed to be in my life at that time for a reason, and I've grown a lot since. I've probably grown in some way because of them. It's never too late to learn from your experiences and be the best person you can be because of them."

Though Isabel could be a bit shallow at times, Daphne was amazed at what a positive, deep view she had of the world around her.

"I would ask if you miss your gang, but I think I already know the answer." Isabel chimed in.

"Yeah, I mean, I miss them even more now that…" Daphne stopped herself before she was able to say anything about her kiss with Shaggy.

"That what?" Isabel motioned for her white-shirted friend to keep moving.

"That we're going on a trip without them!" Daphne quickly followed, relieved that she had successfully stopped herself from revealing anything about her intimate life, even though she didn't really have much of one at the moment.

It had already gotten dark and a whole day's driving had passed. Daphne continued driving, solaced by only the fact that they would be there in a matter of minutes.

She had turned the radio on to keep her awake, which was currently playing a piano solo. It quickly ended and was replaced with the voice of a man. "And that was Jimmy Lewis with his latest hit! Alex Super, The Sparkles, and Lindsay Pagano all coming up in less than ten minutes on ZPOP!"

Daphne shifted her gaze over to Isabel, who was currently asleep, half of her face nestled peacefully in her soft gray scarf and the other half exposed, to which a slight smile could be seen. Daphne admired the constant pleasantness of her blonde friend, even seemingly when she was asleep.

* * *

Daphne turned down a bleak, shadowy road only lit by a flickering street lamp. A brief drive through the dimly lit pathway led to a much more beautiful sight: an old Gothic mansion, which was surrounded by a light layer of snow. It was difficult to see the features of the house in the dark, but it looked gigantic and awe-inspiring, yet slightly foreboding. As Daphne parked the car in the snowy driveway, she noticed her friend was still fast asleep.

"Iz." Daphne said quietly, as not to startle her.

Isabel didn't respond directly, but instead made an almost inaudible sleep noise, while unconsciously nuzzling her nose on the soft material of her scarf.

"Isabel. We're here." Daphne tried to still keep her voice soothing, but raised it slightly so the blonde would be cognisant of it.

Her friend's eyes fluttered open, and looked up at Daphne in anticipation. Her eyes gave the redhead a very sleepy gaze.

"Time to wake up, Iz. We're here." Daphne repeated for the third time.

Isabel adjusted her scarf to give her neck more breathing room, and stretched out her arms as she gave a big yawn. She struggled to keep her eyes open and become aware of her surroundings.

"Rise and shine, little ray of sunshine. We're at our destination!" Daphne urged one last time, before Isabel's eyes sleepily met hers.

Isabel grabbed her two suitcases, which were colored blue and purple (the same ones she had brought up to the Mystery Weekend), before surprising Daphne with a third and a fourth suitcase, which she had not brought on the previous trip. The third suitcase was brown in color, while the other one was a more blondish shade of yellow. Isabel grabbed all four suitcases and began wheeling them towards the door.

Daphne fought back the urge to ask Isabel what exactly she needed four whole suitcases for, as they were only going to be gone for a single weekend. After a strenuous mental battle with herself, she finally forfeited to her ever-curious brain and asked, "Iz, what exactly do you need all those suitcases for?"

"Ah, you know, some heavy weaponry, hard liquor, kinky lovemaking accessories. Just the essentials."

Daphne's mouth nearly dropped to the ground before she realized that her blonde friend was joking, as she burst out in laughter.

"Kinky lovemaking accessories?" Daphne laughed.

"Well, that's what happens when you ask sleepy Isabel a question and she has to think of a joke on the spot!" Isabel responded, casually referring to herself in the third-person.

The two girls continued walking up the steep driveway very slowly, to avoid tripping over their feet in the thin layer of ice which covered their path.

"Seriously though, what do you need all those suitcases for?" Daphne asked in a silly voice, though internally serious and curious of what her friend needed all that luggage for.

"Seriously though!" Isabel mimicked, but in a much more whiney and exasperated voice than Daphne had. "Why do you need to know?"

"Uh…no reason. Just asking." Daphne said, now embarrassed that she had pried into Isabel's personal business. Though, she did wonder now if there was something strange like "kinky lovemaking accessories" in the extra suitcases.

The two women, both slightly frustrated with each other, hiked up the driveway, beginning to finally near their destination. As they approached, their view of the house became clearer and clearer. The house's roof was sprinkled lightly with snow, and its porch, which was made of old hardwood boards, also had a thin layer of ice surrounding it. As Daphne and Isabel walked up the stairs, they did so cautiously to avoid stumbling on the ice or falling through the boards, which creaked as they stepped on them. Though most of the windows were dark, lights could be seen on inside a selective few of them.

Before they knocked on the door, both girls looked up at the immense house which loomed over them like a giant. The winds that night were very strong, and blew the huge oak trees which were nestled around the house as if they were simply toothpicks.

Daphne shivered before her hand reached the doorbell, causing a chain-effect of seemingly dozens of bells all around the house. It took the two a second to realize that what they were hearing was simply one loud, powerful doorbell.

The two bright-eyed females remained hopeful that someone would eventually answer the doorbell, both so they could get out of the cold, and explore the gigantic house which awaited them. Finally, the door slowly creaked open.

"Yes?" The butler said very slowly. He was an older man, possibly in his late 50's, and wore a black dress shirt with a navy blue tie, along with some tannish pants.

Daphne wanted to simply run in the house, as she was absolutely chilled to the bone, but didn't want to be ostentatiously rude. She noticed her blonde companion was pulling up her scarf over her mouth and rubbing it gently on her face for warmth.

"Can we come in, s-sir?" Daphne said rapidly, to prevent her teeth from chattering.

"Yes, ladies, come on in!" the butler replied. "May I take your coats?"

"Sure, that would be great!" Daphne replied, ecstatic to explore the unfamiliar territory and a possible attraction for her show.

Daphne handed the man her coat, which was a dark shade of purple. The butler put his hand out for Isabel's coat, though it took her a minute to realize what he was doing. She handed him her coat, which was red with an orange inner-lining.

"What brings you here at this late of an hour, ladies?" the black-shirted man asked.

"We're here to…" Daphne began replying, but was distracted by Isabel brushing the snow out of her hair in a 'look at how cute I am' sort of way, which briefly annoyed her. She enjoyed Isabel's company, but the constant chipperness and attempts to look adorable were enough to get on anyone's nerves occasionally.

Daphne regathered her thoughts and continued. "We're here to look at some of the spooky goings-on which are in all of your employer's movies. You see I'm Daphne Blake, from the hit show Coast to Coast from Daphne Blake, and I'm looking for some paranormal attractions for my show."

"Oh yes, I've seen that show. You've done a wonderful job with that, I must say. My employer, Lorde Sumley, has retired for the night, but I'm sure he would be more than honored to show you around tomorrow morning."

"Alright, so should we just find a hotel to stay in for the night?"

"No, no, Lorde lives alone ever since his wife died five years ago, and all his children are grown and off at college, so there are plenty of guest rooms. Would you like one room or two for you and your friend?"

Daphne looked at the blonde to make sure she was comfortable enough to sleep in the same bed. Sure, they were pretty good friends, but the redhead didn't want to presume anything about Isabel's comforts or discomforts. Isabel nodded and smiled in response, affirming that she was more than comfortable in stay in a single room.

"Sure, we'll take a single room please. By the way, this is my friend, Isabel."

"Nice to meet you, madam." The butler reached out his hand to shake hers.

Instead of the traditional handshake which the man clearly expected, Isabel tried to speak in a slightly deeper 'fancy' voice.

"No, the pleasure is all mine, my good sir!" Isabel responded before curtsying and pretending to remove her nonexistent top hat.

The butler was taken aback by her strange response, but Daphne simply rolled her eyes at Isabel's 'fancy' voice and mannerism, which looked quite unnatural and awkward.

"Uh, that was...interesting." The butler replied, shaking his head at Isabel's quirkiness. "I'll show you two to your rooms now."

Daphne and her friend walked up the stairs with the butler, which creaked just like the set on the porch did. Along the way, the redhead looked at the paintings in awe, which all featured classic movie monsters such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman, along with less traditional monsters like a swamp monster and a strange boogeyman-esque creature.

"Your room is the last door on the right." the butler said. "I'll leave you two ladies to get ready for bed if you wish, but let me know if I can be of any assistance. It was a pleasure to meet you, and feel free to sleep in tomorrow morning. Breakfast will be served whenever you decide to come downstairs."

"Thank you, sir!" Daphne answered. "I didn't catch the name though?"

"Oh yes, you may call me Charles if you wish. If you need me, just ring the bell in your rooms, and I'll come right up." Charles responded.

The two girls walked down the long hallway in solitude, and were awe-inspired to see their room. It was furnished in beautiful decorations, including very comfortable-looking pillows and a warm fleece quilt on their bed. The walls were covered in various trophy heads, including a deer and a large-looking bear head.

"I liked your fancy voice, Isabel." Daphne said sarcastically, before going to change and get ready for bed.

"Thank you, thank you, madam." Isabel resumed her faux fancy voice and curtsied again. "You have to hear British Isabel!"

Isabel raised her voice to a high-pitched tone and began speaking in a horribly stereotypical "proper" British accent. "Well love, I suppose it's time we turn in for the ev'ning!"

Daphne rolled her eyes again. "Please don't ever try that again, if you'd like to survive the night."

"Bonjour! Ho-ho-ho!" Isabel tried to imitate a stereotypical French laugh, though it sounded like a very poor imitation of a Frenchman's accent.

In a silly voice, Daphne responded "I'll kill you right now if you want!"

"You love me too much to do that!" Isabel said playfully, and put her arms tightly around Daphne to form an awkward, one-sided hug.

"Well, I love you, but keep doing those accents and we'll see if I can restrain myself." Daphne responded, half-joking, yet half-annoyed. "Do you need the bathroom right now? I'd like to get ready for bed."

"Sure, go ahead. I can change out here while you're in there."

Daphne opened the bathroom door and began brushing her teeth and changing into her pajamas.

Once both girls had gotten ready for the night, they both went to bed. Daphne felt exhausted, while Isabel stayed up began reading a book, entitled "The Legend of the Vampire."

Collapsing into bed and nestling herself under the fleece blanket, Daphne mumbled "Night, Iz," quickly falling fast asleep before she was able to hear Isabel's response.

* * *

Daphne woke up to a partially-awake state and sleepily rolled out of bed. She glanced at her friend, who was still fast asleep, and walked into the bathroom to shower and get ready for the morning.

After taking nearly an hour to shower and do her makeup and hair, it surprised Daphne to see that Isabel had still not woken up from her deep sleep.

Daphne quickly grabbed a pair of blue jeans with a glittery material around the knee areas, as well as a white blouse, which had several tiny frills towards the bottom near where her stomach would be. The redhead took one last look at the sleepy blonde and began her way downstairs. She half wondered if Isabel would come down to breakfast and surprise her with a crazy new hair color like she had at the Mystery Weekend event.

While walking down the hall, she ran into Charles the butler, and greeted him pleasantly.

"Morning, Charles. My friend is still sleeping, but I'm ready for breakfast, if it's not too much trouble of course."

"Oh, not at all, Ms. Blake. Please feel free to head down and meet Lorde Sumley while I prepare my breakfast specialty."

"Mmm, sounds delicious! What exactly is your 'specialty'?"

"It's a delightful combination of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and three types of sausages. Everyone seems to love it, madam."

"Sounds delicious, Charles!" Daphne fibbed, as she was not a big fan of sausages or eggs. She did, however, heartily enjoy a nice warm pancake in the morning.

As the man walked off towards the kitchen to prepare their breakfast, Daphne continued her trek down the staircase and took a closer look at some of the house's decorations. After all, she was so tired last night, it was difficult to maintain focus on anything, especially since there was so much beautiful decor to look at around the house. Her eyes met a fake trophy head of some kind of monster, which appeared to have large fangs, and pointy rabbit-like ears along with bright red hairs and black fur surrounding its face.

Daphne arrived at the dining room to find an older-looking man already sitting there. The man wore a black suit and tie, along with some gray dress pants. She quickly realized who he was.

"You must be Lorde Sumley! I've seen a bunch of your movies, and I love how accurately you stay true to the classic horror films, while adding your own, unique twist to it!" Daphne said, excited to meet the horror film star she had heard so much about.

"Thank you, my dear. Pleasure to meet you as well. I've watched quite a few of your shows, and I must say, you do an amazing job capturing the paranormal world in a professional light. So many people these days rush to create content like you are, in fact, it's movies like the 'Finding Bigfoot' and 'Capturing the Yeti' which give us horror filmmakers a bad name!" Lorde Chumley replied, in his distinctive thick British accent.

Puzzled for a moment, Daphne questioned "Hmm, I've never heard of any of those films. What exactly are they about?"

"Ah, it's quite silly really, there are these two hikers you see, and they attempt to go on some ridiculous 'quest' to find evidence of the existence of Bigfoot."

"Oh, I've heard of those kinds of films before, the ones where they take videos of grizzly bears and claim it's 'Bigfoot'?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, those are the ones I'm speaking of! That 'Capturing the Yeti' film is even more irrational. So you see, there are these four teenage hunters in the woods during the winter. They capture what is obviously a snow-covered black bear in a large rucksack, yet they will not admit that what they bagged isn't a Yeti!"

Sumley began chuckling heartily at the ridiculousness of the film, and Daphne quickly joined in after the image of four excited teenagers thinking they had captured a Yeti, when in reality they had captured a bear which would probably eat them for supper.

"So my dear, how do you take your coffee? Black or with cream and sugar?" Sumley inquired.

"I'll do a bit of cream and sugar, if you wouldn't mind." Daphne responded.

"Oh, not at all, darling." Sumley stated. "Charles, while you're making breakfast for us, can you get our guest some coffee with cream and sugar?"

"At your service, sir. Breakfast should be ready in another 10 minutes." Charles smiled, before quickly running back to attend to the breakfast.

"Thank you, Charles." Sumley acknowledged. "Now, what is it you'd like to look at today, Ms. Blake?"

"Well, I've heard you've had some strange happenings going on around here lately."

"Ah yes, there are many oddities lurking around every corner of this house. Albeit not just lately, the strange occurrences began right when the house was built!"

"When you say 'oddities,' what kind of oddities do you mean?"

Lorde Sumley paused for a moment, pondering his next word choice.

"Well, I suppose the most prominent oddity would be the paintings. All of the portraits in this house represent each individual role that I was given in my critically-acclaimed films."

"What exactly is odd about that though?" Daphne interrogated.

"You didn't let me finish. You see, some of the portraits have taken on a life of their own. They move about in the night, and I've even seen quite a good number of them reach out of their respective canvases."

"You mean the monsters can just get out and walk around the house?" Daphne said, in a slight panic thinking about the image.

"Oh no, they wouldn't dream of it. Like that of a turtle and its shell, the creatures need the canvasses for their security. Though also in analogy to a turtle, they get restless and sometimes reach an arm, a leg, or even a whole body out."

"Aren't you scared of what the creatures might do?"

"Oh, heavens no!" Sumley declared, "I have no reason to fear them. In my 20 years in this house, they have never so much as harmed a hair on my body."

"I suppose they can't hurt you very easily, if they're all trapped in the paintings."

"Ah, but there are others. The trophies on the wall sometimes come alive, and other mysterious beings lurk around the house in the dark of the night."

"Are you sure it's safe for me to look around?" Daphne asked, now slightly uneasy after hearing his frightening stories.

"Well, my dear, I can't exactly be sure, but as I've said, they've never sought out to do me harm. Though I suppose…" Sumley once again had a pause in his speech, presumably trying to figure out how to most intelligently articulate his next words. "...there is a chance that they may not take to strangers."

"You've never had strangers in here before?"

"Well, of course I have, but mainly friends and family. I have a theory you see, that the monsters can sense friendship and strong bonds between people. But you and your friend, I've just met, so I cannot guarantee how exactly the monsters will react."

Daphne was shocked about how seemingly calm Lorde was about monsters living with him in his own home. If the roles were reversed, Daphne would have ran out and sold the house 20 years ago.

"Well…" Daphne hesitated, "I think my friend and I will still look around anyways. What kind of creatures should we be on the lookout for?"

"All kinds, really. Presumably you've seen the paintings near the stairs. I've seen a few of those gain self-awareness and reach out of their frames. I've been in this business for nearly 40 years now, so my resume is extensive. I've played everything from a gryphon to your average everyday phantom."

To distract Daphne from the unsettling thought of running into hundreds of monsters, Charles averted her restless mind with the delicious smell of pancakes and hash browns.

"Breakfast is served!" Charles carefully set a platter down on the table, which was covered with at least a dozen pancakes and various kinds of maple syrup. Less intriguing to Daphne, he also rested a large dish of scrambled eggs on the table, as well as an additional plate of sausages. The plate included sausage links, patties and a type of German sausage which appeared to be a sort of bratwurst-looking meat.

"Looks delicious!" Daphne said, despite her dislike of the majority of the food offered. "Thank you, Charles!"

"Oh, it's my pleasure, m'lady." Charles responded. Daphne was glad Isabel hadn't come down yet. Quite frankly, she didn't care to see her curtsy once again.

"This is absolutely delightful, Charles! Always a treat to indulge in one of your Saturday morning breakfasts." Sumley praised.

"Why, thank you, sir." Charles said, in a very subdued manner.

Daphne grabbed a single large pancake and drizzled a small bit of syrup over her plate.

"Would you like some topping, Lorde?" Charles questioned.

"Why yes, Charles, I think I will have some."

Charles sprinkled what appeared to be a light, white powder onto Sumley's plate. Daphne watched the butler, who was now wearing a white dress shirt and khaki pants.

"What exactly is that, if I may ask?" Daphne pondered curiously.

"Oh, of course my dear. It's powdered sugar, quite common to put on pancakes around here. I wouldn't dream of having one without it!" Sumley chuckled heartily and continued indulging into his meal.

Daphne still found it to be an odd custom, as she had never heard of doing so in any place she had visited previously, but she shrugged it off and continued eating her syrup-covered pancake.

After the two had finished breakfast, Daphne felt like moaning in fullness. She had eaten two full pancakes, along with several hash browns. Charles had returned to the room to take their dishes.

"Mmm, Charles, that was delightful! You may take our guest's plate away now if you please." Sumley ushered for Charles to grab Daphne's plate.

"Of course, sir!" Charles grabbed Daphne's plate off the table and walked slowly towards the kitchen, trying to balance the many platters and plates he had picked up without dropping them.

"Now, if you want to get your friend, I shall show you around the residence!"

"Alright, I can go up and wake Isabel if you'd like."

"Oh, I didn't realize your friend was still resting! Best let the girl sleep if she wishes; I can instruct Charles to alert her to where we are."

"Sure," Daphne affirmed, "Just tell Charles to have Isabel meet us downstairs when she gets up."

"Charles?" Sumley said authoritatively.

"Yes, sir?"

"Charles, I'd like you to instruct Ms. Blake's friend upstairs to meet us in the basement when she's up and alert for the day."

"Of course, Lorde. Anything else I can assist with, sir?" Charles asked.

"No, I do believe that is all for now, Charles."

"Alright, sir, please let me know if I can be of assistance."

"Now then, let's begin our tour!" Sumley said in an announcer-type voice.

"Where shall we start?" Daphne said, though slightly distracted while attempting to turn her camera on for filming.

Sumley cleared his throat to prepare for being filmed. "I suppose that the basement is the best place to begin. Most of my paintings are down here."

"And we're recording in 3, 2, 1, now!" Daphne pressed the record button on her camera, which was marked by a bright red plastic cover for easy accessibility.

"WELCOME, to Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake, ladies and gents. I'm horror film star and host, Lorde Sumley, here with the lovely Daphne Blake, solely for the purpose of your entertainment." Sumley said, forcefully articulating his words.

Daphne giggled a bit, not expecting the lavish introduction from Lorde Sumley. He continued, and Daphne zoomed in on his face for added effect.

"I should warn you, however, that tonight's programme is not one for the faint of heart. This next hour will document footage of REAL supernatural beings, in their natural habitat. Proceed watching at your own risk!"

Daphne tried to avoid giggling at his outlandish and very proper-sounding intro, but couldn't hold the laughter back any longer.

"I see you liked my introduction!" Sumley said, his tone still elevated with cinematically-induced energy.

"Yes, it was quite interesting!" Daphne laughed.

"Thank you, thank you, madam!" Sumley bowed and removed his top hat briefly.

 _I guess Isabel's impression wasn't so off after all,_ Daphne thought to herself.

"Ah, sorry, I momentarily forgot we were still filming. Back to my tour!" Sumley announced.

"No worries, no worries." Daphne assured. "I can easily edit anything out."

"Stupendous!" Sumley responded in an almost ecstatic tone, continuing to be very ostentatiously proper-sounding. "Now, on with the tour!"

"Many creatures lurk about in this basement of bad omens, prankish poltergeists protrude out of the paintings, and ghosts giggle about the great secrets of life and death, which us humble humans haplessly wonder about all our lives, but shall never find the answer to. This room, is a portal to the very depths of Hell, and holds the secrets of parallel and paranormal universes that we have previously only dreamed of! But tonight, you shall see evidence of the concepts you never thought were possible. Those concepts, are that of true paranormal activity and life, living right here in our very world. Behold!"

Daphne, still amused by the drama, whimsically clapped at Lorde's extravagant introduction.

"You see, Daphne, this is what I was speaking to you about at breakfast. I have been in the horror business for 40 years now, and I've learned time and time again that one cinematic principle towers over them all. Authenticity, my darling! You must build your audience up to what they are about to witness and see, not spoon feed it to them. You must build up the suspense, but allow the audience to react to the shocking revelations they see on their own, and surprise the evidence with what they never thought was possible! It is then, and only then, that you can make a true horror masterpiece!" Sumley explained.

Finally understanding the point of Sumley's over-the-top intro, Daphne found his comments to be inspiring.

"I think I see, so you have to do just the right amount of explanation and development to make a good horror film?"

"Precisely! A movie without development is like a story without plot! You cannot make a truly good story without a strong foundation! But, you must make the story as strong as the foundation! You cannot simply presume your audience are a bunch of uneducated simpletons. Rather, it is YOU who is trying to win the audience over, not the other way around. You must, at all costs, ensure you are making content which entertains others, as well as yourself!"

All of a sudden, a loud creak could be heard throughout the basement.

"What was that?" Daphne inquired.

"Oh, I dare say it might have been one of the ghosts! Or…"

"Or what, Lorde?" the redhead urged.

"Or, I fear it may just be the age of the house, my dear. I love this house, and would never dream of replacing it, but it has its clear downfalls. The foundation is beginning to become worn and scuffed about, so it's only natural to hear a creak here and a creak there." Sumley said woefully.

"No need to apologize, Lorde. We'll find some evidence of paranormal activity in this house."

"Ah yes, but I worry. You see the ghosts are quite unpredictable with guests as I said, and they may remain dormant despite our intent to capture them on film. I don't want to disappoint."

Daphne felt sorry for the man, who, despite his outgoingness, seemed a bit lonely and woeful at the moment.

"Don't worry, you've already taught me so much about the horror business. I mean, I'm a 'horror host' of sorts, and I didn't even know most of the tips you've spoke of this morning."

Sumley seemed to light up immediately from Daphne's kind-hearted gesture.

"That's fantastic, Ms. Blake! I'm so glad you've enjoyed your visit. Now, let us finally start the tour!" he repeated. "First stop on our apparitional adventure is the gallery hall!"

Daphne nodded, urging for him to continue as she turned the camera back on just in time to capture his previous words.

"Alas, I must confess that in the depths of night, I have heard the restless spirits howl like a strong burst of light. It's a noise which I can describe in no other way, than a listless phantom seeking to cross over, cross over into the world that it once knew when it was alive."

Almost if on cue, one of the picture frames began to slightly rattle, although it was a jolt so quick that it was almost impossible to tell if it was caused by an undead spirit, or simply a movement caused by an old creaky house.

"Zoom in on that picture, Ms. Blake!" Sumley urgently instructed.

The picture was slightly unsettling, as it featured a picture of a ghostly looking man who was slightly deformed, with two large scars on the skin of either side of his eyes.

Sumley briefly glanced over his shoulder, to make sure the moving picture wasn't a diversion for something more interesting happening behind him.

In the split second he wasn't vigilant of the picture, Sumley heard Daphne gasp and say "Was it just me, or did the eyes move in that picture?" Her voice sounded very agitated and nervous.

"I'm afraid I don't know, Ms. Blake. I wasn't looking."

Slightly hyperventilating, Daphne caught her breath and responded, "Oh, it was probably just my imagination. Let's keep moving."

Sumley, who was visibly worried as well, paused for a brief second and sighed before quickly shuffling towards the next room. His somewhat unsettled state made Daphne uneasy as well, particularly as he had seemed so calm when speaking of the spirits before.

"This next room is my basement study, where there are quite a few more paintings as well as an old player piano." Sumley informed.

Looking around, Daphne noticed the room, painted in a plaidish color, was covered in paintings of various horror film ghouls, and an oddly placed umbrella stand in the far right corner of the room. The room also had a large desk, which the redhead presumed to be Sumley's. The desk had several documents scattered across it, as well as a few stray ballpoint pens laying on a few of the papers.

"Have there been any strange happenings in here, Lorde?" Daphne inquired.

"No, nothing in here I'm afraid. None of these paintings seem to move, or do much of anything really."

As Lorde's final word was vocalized, the two heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Daphne could feel her shoulders immediately tense up, and her stomach becoming tight.

"What's that?" she quickly blurted out.

"Oh, nothing to worry about my dear, that's just Charles."

Daphne instantly felt less afraid and averted her gaze to the ground, to familiarize herself more with the surroundings. She noticed an odd whitish dust on the ground, and zoomed her camera in for closer inspection. After a brief moment, Daphne shrugged off her odd finding, not seeing any clear significance to it.

Before she changed the angle of the camera to be at eye-level, she quickly paused to wipe off the camera lens. Though she didn't have any cleaning cloth with her at the time, she decided to improvise and use her shirt sleeve to wipe off the dust. The redhead glanced through the lens to make sure all the extra dust was gone, and observed a man's black shoe which was directly ahead of her.

 _That must be Charles,_ Daphne thought to herself, as she lifted her head to greet the amiable butler.

Except, as Daphne quickly discovered, the man she saw was not Charles. This man had a very distinctive characteristic which Daphne would never forget: two long scars, on either side of his eyes. It was the ghostly man from the painting.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Admittedly this chapter took the longest of any so far, and went through the most rewrites and revisions of any other chapter as well. Seeing as so many people enjoy the "horror movie" aspect of Zombie Island, my goal with this chapter was to give it a horror movie-esque vibe, in both tone and plot.

Before I get into talking about the chapter more, it's reference time!

Daphne's comment to Isabel near the beginning about Commander Cool ("Are you done with the superhero antics, Commander Cool?") is a reference to Shaggy's favorite superhero from _A Pup Named Scooby-Doo_.

"And that was Jimmy Lewis with his latest hit! Alex Super, The Sparkles, and Lindsay Pagano all coming up in less than ten minutes on ZPOP!" Lots of fun references with this line. Each of the four musicians mentioned here were all in various Scooby episodes. Alex Super is from "Mamba Wamba and the Voodoo Hoodoo" (The Scooby-Doo Show), Jimmy Lewis is from "The Diabolical Disc Demon" (The Scooby-Doo Show), The Sparkles was the band in "The Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco" (The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo Show), and Lindsay Pagano is a real-life musician who guest-starred in the _What's New, Scooby-Doo?_ episode "Riva Ras Regas." Additionally, ZPOP is the callsign of the TV station which the gang had Scooby's televised birthday celebration at in "Happy Birthday, Scooby-Doo" (The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries).

The book which Isabel is reading in bed, "The Legend of the Vampire," is a reference to the respective Scooby movie of the same name.

Lorde Sumley is a reference to horror film star Lorne Chumley, who was in _The New Scooby-Doo Movies_ episode titled "The Exterminator," which also featured guest star Don Adams. You'll notice however, that while I often refer to characters by their first names (i.e. Daphne, Isabel, Charles, etc.), Lorde was almost always referred to by his last name. Though this was unintentional and not a reference, I referred to him by his last name to avoid confusion with the famous pop-rock singer who goes by the monomous name of "Lorde." Obviously you're not likely to get the two confused, but as a writer I know how powerful word associations can be, and didn't want you to think of the singer as you're trying to get a feel for the proper British gentleman that Lorde Sumley's character is. Well that and I know I unintentionally pictured the singer when having to type "Lorde" so many times lol. So thus I changed it to "Sumley" so hopefully it will be less confusing and reference-inducing to you readers.

Really, beyond the Lorne Chumley reference, the whole chapter could be construed as a retooling of that same _The_ _New Scooby-Doo Movies_ episode. In example, you'll notice the painting, and the descriptions of the player piano and the umbrella stand; all things which were in "The Exterminator" episode.

Not much else to explain with this chapter I suppose, but hopefully you're getting a better feel for Isabel's character at this point and see why I added her as a 'recurring' character of sorts. I personally don't usually care for fanfics which try to force new characters on you, so that's why I'm a bit hesitant with Isabel, but hopefully she makes a nice addition and you can see her character's purpose. Or if you don't, you'll likely find out in these next few chapters!


	12. It's Too Much!

Daphne's heart sunk as she saw the ghostly man approach, inching closer and closer by the second.

Whilst the TV host part of her wanted to stay and film the potential paranormal occurrence, the frightened part of her told her to run as fast as she could, without stopping.

"Sumley?" Daphne called, in a panicky state.

"Yes, my dear?" Sumley replied back. His footsteps could be heard, quickly rushing into the room.

Daphne didn't have to speak to alert Sumley of the impending danger.

"My my my, that is quite the predicament, isn't it?" Sumley observed. Daphne couldn't tell if Sumley was genuinely as curious as he sounded, or if he was just trying to hide the intense fear that he was feeling inside.

As Sumley spoke, the apparition kept slowly making his way over to Daphne.

"Get back in your painting this instant!" Sumley authoritatively shouted.

The ghostly man paid no attention to Sumley's instruction, and continued towards Daphne, only a few feet away now. Slowly losing faith in Sumley's ability to control the creature that came out of the painting, the redhead ran as quickly as she could and headed for the door leading to upstairs.

"Prick up your ears, old chap! I said, get back in your painting!" Sumley insisted, still clearly not coming to terms with the fact that the ghostly figure had no intention of being obedient. The apparition gave a very macabre smile, bearing its teeth in a very devilish grin.

Visibly distraught, Sumley followed Daphne's lead and began running in the opposite direction of the grinning ghoul.

* * *

Daphne had made her way back to the stairwell, which she quickly raced up so she could once again be in the safe upstairs. Right behind her, Sumley let out a small sigh of exhaustion, panting as he struggled to catch his breath from the strenuous getaway.

"I just don't understand it, my dear!" Sumley articulated his sentence in a frustrated manner. "I've been living in this residence for 20 years, and not once have the beings in the paintings ever tried to harm me!"

"Well, like you said before, I am a guest here. Maybe the ghost is sensing there's something off?" Daphne struggled to get the image of the brutally scarred phantom out of her head as she spoke.

"Maybe, but I feel as if there's something else afoot. Even after you departed the basement, the ghost still paid no heed to what I said. I sense there is something odd occurring here." Sumley responded.

Meanwhile, completely oblivious to what had just happened, Isabel came down from her long slumber. The blonde donned a pink fleece sweater, along with a pair of blue jeans and black boots. She also wore a gray scarf that was so poofy that it completely covered her neck.

"Hey, Daph!" Isabel chirped. "Oh, this must be Lorde Sumley! So nice to meet you!"

Sumley, still somewhat lost in thought, shook the blonde's hand as he said "Ah yes, you must be Ms. Blake's friend, Irene."

"It's Isabel," the blonde corrected.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry my dear, so nice to meet you." Sumley removed his top hat as he took an ostentatious bow, much like one you would see of a stereotypical British character in an old movie.

Isabel looked as if she were about to almost die with excitement, when she realized her very strange way of greeting Charles the previous night was actually correct.

"No, the pleasure is all mine!" Isabel said, as she did a curtsy whilst once again removing her nonexistent top hat. This time, however, the blonde yelped in pain after attempting a half-formed curtsy.

"Apparently, you shouldn't try to bend your legs to curtsy in skinny jeans! Take that as a lesson and don't make my mistake, Mr. Sumley." Isabel said, before pausing to realize the ridiculousness of her previous comment.

"Well, I do say I've never actually worn skinny jeans, though I will be sure to take your advice should that ever occur." Sumley responded, visibly offput by Isabel's odd comment.

The man tried to inconspicuously whisper in Daphne's ear, "I must ask, is your friend always this odd?"

Daphne simply responded, "Yeah, she's a lot of work."

"Who's a lot of work?" Isabel questioned.

"Umm...nothing!" Daphne nonchalantly uttered, trying to draw attention away from her potentially rude comment.

"Okay! So what have you guys been up to?" Isabel asked.

"Nothing much, just being chased by a ghost." Daphne mentioned.

"Oh..." Isabel paused for a moment, trying to process the conflicting message between what Daphne said and her tone of voice. "Wait, what?"

"Yes, my dear, I'm afraid one of my paintings came to life and attempted to attack us." Sumley added.

"You say that like it's a normal thing?" the blonde responded, again confused.

"Well, you see, it is and it isn't. Ever since I bought this house 20 years ago, the creatures in the paintings have always been restless during the night. However, this is the first time in which a creature has attempted to do bodily harm to one of my guests, or I, for that matter!" Sumley elaborated.

"Wait...so this house isn't haunted by a ghost, but rather hundreds of ghosts in different paintings?" Isabel interrogated.

Sumley's facial expression clearly displayed how exasperated he was by the blonde girl's constant questions. Finally, he answered, "Why don't we talk more about this over breakfast? Ms. Blake and I have already eaten, though we don't mind providing you some company whilst you dine, do we Ms. Blake?"

The redhead perked up at the sound of her own name, and replied "Mhm, sure," before switching her attention over to Charles, who had just entered the room.

"How may I be of assistance, ladies and gents?" Charles inquired.

"Charles, do you still have leftovers from our breakfast this morning?" Sumley requested.

"Why yes, as a matter of fact I do!" Charles said. "I can quick make another stack of pancakes for you. I believe the hash browns and sausages are still nice and warm, as well."

"Oh, it's okay, I just need one pancake is all. I'm not usually very hungry in the mornings." Isabel explained.

Daphne held back the urge to make a joke about Isabel's comment. Finally, after only a few seconds of self-control and willpower, Daphne smirked and said "Gotta keep those curves intact, right?"

Isabel fought back the urge to laugh, though not well enough, as she began giggling uncontrollably. "Daphne! That's supposed to be private!"

"Oh, I fully understand, ladies. After all, I need to keep in shape as well!" Sumley laughed, as he patted his somewhat large stomach.

Charles looked surprised by Sumley's attempt at humor, and simply replied "Alright, I shall just get one pancake for Ms. Isabel then."

"Come on, Iz. We'll show you the dining room." The redhead ushered for her friend to follow.

* * *

Even though Daphne had seen the dining room before, she was still amazed by how massive it was. The room was filled in Medieval decor, with early Victorian furnishings and various shelves with knick-knacks on them. The table was enormous, and could easily fit 20 people at a time. Quite odd, Daphne thought, considering that it seemed Sumley didn't have much company since his wife died.

"Breakfast is served!" Charles said, once again balancing several plates between his two hands.

"Mmm, looks delicious!" Isabel said.

"Would you like any powdered sugar on your pancake?" the butler asked.

"Aww, that sounds so cute! Sure, I'll try it." the blonde responded.

"Just say when!" the butler instructed, as he began lightly sprinkling powdered sugar over her pancake.

"That's fine, thanks." Isabel said, after the pancake was sufficiently covered in powdered sugar.

"Oh dear, I forgot to get you a fork!" Charles exclaimed.

"Oh, I shan't be needing that." Isabel said, pretending to shove her entire face in the pancake.

"Isabel!" Daphne said, astonished at what her friend had just uttered. "We're guests in someone's home!"

"Calm down, I was kidding!" Isabel fired back in a snarky tone.

Charles quickly rushed back, handing the blonde her fork.

"Good!" Isabel rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "Now to indulge in my snowy goodness!"

The blonde cut off a small piece of the powdered sugar covered pancake and slowly put the morsel into her mouth. Her face immediately lit up with excitement, and Daphne could have sworn her eyes expanded to the size of saucers.

"Umm...I take it you liked it, Isabel?" Daphne said, unsure of how else to respond to her friend's odd facial expression.

"If you could taste a dream, and mix it with the brightness of twenty-thousand rainbows, that's how good this tastes." Isabel responded, clearly unable to contain her excitement.

"Well...okay then." Daphne laughed.

"Ladies, I believe there is the matter of the paintings that we also need to dutifully attend to." Sumley interrupted.

"Oh yeah, let's start discussing that. You have both of our undivided attention." Daphne stated, before looking back over at Isabel. The pink-sweatered female was in the process of chewing another piece of pancake.

"Oh my god. This is so freaking delicious I could cry!"

"Well, I take that back. You have _one_ of our undivided attention." Daphne rolled her eyes at Isabel's overreaction.

"If I died right now from choking on this pancake, I think I would go to heaven achieving enlightenment."

"Okay, let's ignore the crazy girl." Daphne scoffed. "So, what's our plan, Lorde?"

"I say, what if Charles and Isabel follow us down? Maybe the ghosts will feel less intimidated if all four of us come downstairs at once. We could even explain to them what you are trying to do!"

The idea certainly sounded odd, especially talking to paintings which may or may not comprehend what they were saying, but an idea was an idea, as far as Daphne was concerned.

"I like the idea, but I mean, they're still undead spirits. Who's to say that they wouldn't be more active with more people disturbing them?" Daphne suggested.

"Hmm, you make a fine argument, Ms. Blake. Albeit I imagine you did not simply come all this way to leave without getting any proper footage." Sumley elaborated. "We might as well give it a sufficient chance, as far as I'm concerned."

"Well, I guess it's not as if I haven't encountered angry apparitions before," Daphne pondered. "I guess we'll give it a shot."

"Jolly good show, then!" Sumley affirmed. "But I must warn you, I make no assurances that the spirits will respond with pleasantries. They may be very vicious, and we may have to once again flee for our lives."

"I think we're all willing to take that chance. Except maybe Charles." Daphne stated.

"Oh no, Charles has been my faithful servant and friend since I bought the house. He's well acquainted with the spirits." Sumley responded.

"Well, I guess if Isabel's done, let's go and explore the basement!" Daphne glanced over to her friend's plate. She quickly discovered that it was still nearly full, due to Isabel only nibbling at the pancake. "Could you eat a little faster, Iz? We're trying to get back down to the basement before midnight." Daphne said sarcastically.

Practically drooling whilst savoring her treasured pancake, Isabel looked up and responded "No! I need to savor every bite. Speaking of which, how strange would it be if I prayed to this pancake?"

"Very. And you know, you could just ask Charles to make you another one, right?"

"Nah, I'm good with just the one. I roll at my own pace."

"Yeah, slow and slower. Now are you coming with us or not?"

"Eh, you can just go ahead with Lorde and Charles. I'll follow you down in a minute."

Daphne shrugged at her friend's quirkiness, and looked towards Sumley and Charles and announced "Alright, let's get going!"

The two gentlemen followed the redhead down into the basement, as her odd blonde friend continued to nibble at her pancake.

* * *

"So, should we go back to the scarred ghost's painting, or see what other spirits want to say hello?" Daphne said sarcastically.

"Oh my, that is a dilemma, isn't it?" Sumley answered, prompting Daphne to give him a strange look. She wasn't expecting to have been taken seriously. "I suppose we could explore a new room."

Daphne shivered as the trio passed the canvas of the deformed phantom, worried that at any moment, the painting's inhabitant would pay them an unwelcome visit. Continuing to walk, the three wandered past the familiar umbrella stand into a new room, which was filled with new paintings. These paintings perhaps looked more frightening than the previous bunch. One with a cloaked ghoul caught Daphne's eye in particular, partially due to the creature's blue skin to match its navy blue cloak. Under the cloak, the ghoul donned a gentleman's black tuxedo, along with gray dress pants. Though she continued to stay alert of the other paintings, Daphne found her eyes continuously going back to that particular one, ensuring that it didn't move without her noticing.

Momentarily, Daphne noticed another very odd decoration on the wall, though this one wasn't a painting. It was similar to a trophy head, though rather than any animal you could hunt, the trophy head featured the head of a condor-like bird, with humanoid arms. The bird had a ghastly grimace on its face, the kind which Daphne didn't think she would forget for a long time.

"That's an interesting decoration, Lorde." Daphne commented.

"Yes, it is. I bought it at a local store one day. They had it prominently featured on sale for ninety percent off its original price, practically giving it away."

"What's that it has in its hand?" Daphne looked, reaching towards the ugly bird for a close look.

"Oh, I'm afraid I wouldn't be doing that, if I were you." Sumley yelled.

Daphne quickly pulled her hand back, awaiting Sumley's explanation.

"You see, I believe the reason the statue was so cheap is because it, like the paintings, is haunted."

"A haunted bird?" Daphne giggled at the thought.

"Yes, I understand how silly that sounds. But, out of the corner of my eye, I believe to have seen the bird move its hand slightly." Sumley said, visibly a bit uneasy.

"What is that though, in its hand, Lorde?"

"Oh, that. It's a piggy bank."

Daphne scrunched her face, forming a disgruntled look. "What?"

"Yes, quite an odd choice of decor, I'm aware. It came with the bird, and...I do ask you let me fully explain, as it is rather complicated...the sales clerk recommended I never separate the piggy bank from the bird's hand. At first, I thought it looked silly, so I moved the piggy bank and was going to donate it to the local orphanage. But right after I separated the two items, that's when I began to see the bird doing strange things out of the corner of my eye. Moving its arm, shifting its gaze, and...this is the most bizarre of them all...putting a coin into the piggy bank!"

Daphne was struck a bit odd by Sumley's last comment, though given what she had seen throughout her years mystery solving and ghost hunting, nothing really surprised her that much anymore.

"Did you ever check the piggy bank, after you thought you saw the bird put something into it?" the redhead inquired.

"No, I disgracefully admit that I was too afraid to do so."

"Well, that's where I come in." In a flash, Daphne turned on her camera and instantly reached for the piggy bank.

"Ms. Blake!" Sumley shouted in a flustered way.

"Yes?" Daphne asked, anticipant of the response.

"Just...be careful!"

"Yes, please be careful, Ms. Blake." Charles chimed in, having not said anything previously for the duration of their time in basement.

Daphne didn't respond, but rather grabbed the piggy bank and shook it.

"There was nothing you put in here, right?" Daphne asked.

"No, as I said, I was too nervous to try to do anything after I saw the bird moved. Or, at least, when I believed I did." Sumley uttered.

"Well…" Daphne's determined gaze quickly turned to that of a nervous glance. "There is now."

As Sumley and Charles slightly recoiled in discomfort, Daphne shook the single coin out of the piggy bank.

"What type of coin is it?" Charles questioned.

"I don't know, it looks like something...ahhh!" Daphne jumped back and dropped the coin to the ground. Sumley and Charles were taken aback as well, by their companion's sharp movement.

"What is it, Ms. Blake?" Sumley said, his speech visibly slower with a hint of anxiety.

"It said...beware of the cursed coin of Donne." Daphne spoke.

Sumley squinted towards the coin on the ground, which was now surrounded by an eerie yellow glow. "I do say, I've never seen this coin in my life before! Where could it have came from?"

"Not a clue, sir!" Charles confirmed.

"Well, let's not wait around and find out." Daphne said, clearly spooked. The redhead picked the coin up off of the hardwood floor, and put in back in its respective piggy bank. She quickly set it back in the bird's grasp.

"Not a moment too soon." Daphne said with relief.

No response.

"Lorde? Charles?" Daphne looked around frantically, before being solaced by a familiar looking shadow next to her. She would have been frightened, but the shadow displayed the exact same suit type and figure as Charles. On a second glance, she noticed an odd piece of fabric dangling from Charles's backside. It almost looked like...

A cloak.

Daphne spun around to see none other than the ghoul from the painting, who now had its arms straight up in the air, and spoke with an almost alien-like echo in its voice.

"You have disturbed the sacred resting place of the Spirit Lord Donne! Lord Donne shall make you pay for your sins with the torture of a thousand deaths!"

The blue-faced ghoul took a swipe at Daphne, but she was already several feet away as her feet took her as fast as she could possibly run. Zooming up the stairs, Daphne didn't even look back to see how close the ghoul was to her until she was several feet out of the dark basement.

Once she was within safe distance from the encounter, Daphne finally turned around, panting with both exhaustion and panic.

Silence.

Daphne nearly jumped ten feet when she heard a familiar voice.

"Ms. Blake! I'm so glad you escaped!" Sumley said. "That ghoul nearly had you."

Daphne only responded with heavy breaths, full of a deep anxiety.

"Ms. Blake? Are you alright?" Sumley persisted.

"I'm fine, except I nearly crapped myself when you snuck up on me like that!" Daphne snapped.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We'll be better planned next time, should you choose to venture back down into the paintings." Sumley apologized.

"If there is a next time." Daphne responded, still catching her breath.

"But Ms. Blake, as you told me yesterday, you're a horror host! You seek to capture the uncapturable, explore the unexplored! Tell the stories which men have feared to speak of!"

"Yes, Lorde, I have had many experiences with the paranormal. But usually it's with _one_ ghost, not 80!"

"I know my house can be a bit...challenging. But I would love if someone would tell the story of it to the world! Speak of the evil I have been living with for nearly twenty years!"

"I'm not worried about some filming issue or lack of motivation. I'm worried about _dying_!" Daphne shouted.

"I understand you're very frightened, Ms. Blake, but as a horror host, you should know better than anyone, you cannot give up! The show must go on!"

"Yes, I am very frightened. Maybe you could give me more than five seconds to recover from nearly having 'the torture of a thousand deaths' before trying to convince me to go back down into that deathtrap?" Daphne snapped.

"Yes...well…" Sumley smiled, as he looked slightly to the right by the window. "Maybe your friend will provide you with a little cheer."

Daphne looked over to the window, where Isabel was peacefully rested on a padded bench, sunning herself and closing her eyes. She was very cutely positioned on the furniture, and it was difficult for Daphne to remain angry and frightened after seeing something that adorable.

Isabel made a high-pitched mumble in her sleep, before ever-so-slightly opening her eyes to see her three companions around her.

"Mhm." Isabel sleepily grumbled. "How are you doing, Daph?

"Well, I almost got killed by a Spirit Lord. How are you?" Daphne said sarcastically.

Seemingly ignoring her friend's ominous remark, Isabel replied "I ate five pancakes. I'm so full I can't move."

Daphne laughed, "Well, that's what you get! Now get up and help us come up with a plan of how to capture these ghosts on film without getting murdered."

Making her voice sound exasperated and whiney, Isabel moaned "It's so much work!"

Sighing at her friend's stubbornness, Daphne tried to make it simpler for the bubbly blonde. "Just stand up, walk three steps to face us, and listen to our ideas. You don't even have to say anything."

"You mean I would have to stand up and walk all the way over there?" Isabel dramatically sighed, pointing to a distance which was only a few inches from where she was laying. Daphne nodded at her friend's comment.

"It's too much!" Isabel whined.

"How about this? You lay there like a lump, and whenever you like one of our ideas, just say so." Daphne said, unsure of how she could make her request possibly be simpler.

"Okay, fine. But can you just do one teensy little favor for your friend?" Isabel smiled.

"Sure, if you listen. What is it?" Daphne replied, afraid of her friend's response.

"Scratch my nose."

"What?" Daphne snapped, feeling tricked. "Why do I have to do it?"

"I'm itchy." Isabel chirped, trying to make her request more likely to be fulfilled by acting cute.

"Ugh! Fine!" Daphne said. "See what I mean that she's a lot of work?"

"Yes, clearly." Sumley sympathized.

Daphne scratched her unwilling friend's nose briefly with her ring finger, as Isabel gave her a big smile whilst doing so.

"I didn't say stop!" Isabel said in a silly voice, though Daphne took annoyance regardless.

Visibly frustrated, Daphne tried to contain herself and simply asked. "How long do you want me to scratch it then?"

"The whole conversation!" Isabel responded boldly.

Daphne didn't even bother to respond, but continued scratching Isabel's nose as she spoke to get her to be quiet.

"Thank you!" Isabel said, as she continued cheerfully smiling while her friend relieved the itching.

"So, what are our options? We either leave or go into the basement and die?" Daphne bluntly, before pausing to notice the paintings by the staircase out of the corner of her eye. "Hey, why don't those paintings move?"

"Hmm, you have an interesting point, Ms. Blake!" Sumley pondered. "I have seen those particular portraits move previously, yet they have not so much as stirred whilst you and your friend have been here."

A smile came over Daphne's face as she fully formulated her thoughts. "What if…"

"...you keep scratching my nose? Please do, I'm very content." Isabel smirked.

"No!" Daphne snapped. "What if we filmed the paintings in the stairwell and see what happened? There's that trophy head, as well."

The redhead pointed towards the fanged creature which she had noticed on her way down to breakfast earlier.

"Excellent idea, Ms. Blake!" Sumley exclaimed. "What do you think Charles?"

"Yes, I must say that is an ingenious plan! That should potentially give us some insight into how the paintings work."

"Okay, what are we waiting for then?" Daphne asked. "Is your nose sufficiently scratched, your highness?"

"Well, yeah." Isabel disappointedly stated. Her pretend pouting didn't last long, however. The blonde's face immediately lit up with a smile and said "But you know...my hair could use a good petting."

Daphne gave her a cranky look of frustration.

"What? My hair needs love too!"

"Just come on!" Daphne grabbed Isabel's hand forcefully before she finally got up.

"Fine." Isabel harrumphed. "Walking is so hard when you have to do it yourself!"

Daphne rolled her eyes at her friend's whiney remark.

* * *

The two women followed Sumley and Charles onto the staircase.

"Let me know when you're recording, Ms. Blake." Sumley inquired.

"Okay, you're on in 3, 2, 1!" Daphne gave Sumley an anticipant stare, alerting him that it was his time to speak.

"Hello again, fellow comrades. This is Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake, and I'm here with hostess Daphne Blake, and her friend, Isabel -" Sumley paused for a moment, unsure of his next words. "I'm terribly sorry. What is your friend's last name again, Ms. Blake?"

"Clingyandannoying."

"...and her friend, Isabel Cli-" It took Sumley a minute to realize Daphne was being sarcastic. "Never mind, the matter is unimportant. Daphne Blake and her friend Isabel are here with us, trying to see if we can spot any paranormal activity in the stairwell paintings."

Daphne switched the camera focus from Sumley to the paintings on the staircase. She continued to point the camera directly towards the paintings, but nothing peculiar occured.

* * *

After nearly 30 minutes of holding the camera steady, Daphne was about ready to give up. The four hadn't actually seen any signs of anything, so continuing to film seemed pointless.

"I think we ought to give up, Lorde." Daphne suggested.

"Yes, yes, I quite agree. We haven't seen hide nor hair of anything paranormal yet." Sumley responded.

Daphne continued filming for the last few precious seconds, and subsequently turned off the camera in disappointment.

"Guess there's nothing to see here." Daphne commented. "Where next, gang?"

Daphne paused after articulating the word "gang." It felt natural as she said it, but after the fact, it felt awkward to call anyone but her old friends that.

"I mean, where else have the ghosts been sighted, Lorde?" Isabel asked.

"Well, there is the theatre room." Sumley mentioned.

"Theatre room? Fancy!" Isabel exclaimed.

"Yes, I did fancy it quite a bit. But ever since my beloved wife died and my kids left the house, it hasn't seen much use I'm afraid." Sumley said, as Isabel cocked her head to the side in confusion (Sumley had clearly misunderstood the way she used the word "fancy").

"When did you last see paranormal activity in there, then?" Daphne inquired.

"As I said, it's been quite a while. Maybe, say, five years. But five years ago, I saw a ghastly sea monster in the theatre room whilst my children and I were watching a film."

"Sea monster?" Daphne said in surprise.

"Aren't they supposed to be...you know, in the sea?" Isabel asked.

"Well, one of the paintings in that room had a sea monster in it, so I imagine it came out of there." Sumley explained.

"You mean you didn't see it come out of the painting?" Daphne pondered curiously.

"No, I'm afraid not. We were entranced in the movie and weren't paying attention to our surroundings too diligently."

Daphne shrugged. "I suppose it's as good of place to start as any. Coming with us, Iz?"

Once again lying down in a very uncomfortable looking position at the bottom of the stairwell, Isabel yawned and used her hand to flatten down her hair, which was very messy from laying on the hardwood floor.

"You mean I would have to stand up, and walk all the way over there?" Isabel let out an exasperated sigh.

Knowing what she was going say, Daphne mimicked Isabel, causing the two girls to both simultaneously whine "It's too much!"

With a squeak in her voice, Isabel giggled "Clearly you know me well!"

"Are you coming or not, Iz?" Daphne sighed.

"Can you at least help me up?" Isabel said, barely extending out her hands for Daphne to grab.

"Fine." Daphne grabbed Isabel's hand, though Isabel just laid there like a lump, forcing Daphne to bear the burden of lifting Isabel's entire weight.

"Thanks, Daph. You're a good friend!" Isabel said, as she gave the redhead an awkward pat on the head.

Daphne rolled her eyes, as she followed Lorde to the theatre room.

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly are you two friends again?" Sumley said.

"Usually she's not this whiney." Daphne whispered, as so Isabel couldn't hear it.

A moment later, Isabel poked her head into Daphne and Sumley's conversation. "What are we talking about?" she whispered. "I like whispering too!"

Annoyed with the blonde, Daphne blurted "We're talking about how whiney you are!"

"Yeah, but you love me anyway, right?" Isabel mustered a fake-looking innocent smile.

"We'll see." Daphne responded.

"Wait, we're just having fun, right?" Isabel said, now seeming genuinely concerned.

"You are maybe, but some of us are trying to be serious and focus on the problem at hand." Daphne said, still annoyed.

Isabel's perpetual smile momentarily turned into a face of worry and guilt. "Sorry Daph. I'll shut up. I don't want you to hate me like you do the gang."

Daphne paused a moment, realizing she may have been too harsh on her blonde friend.

"No, Iz. You should be yourself, even if you are overly silly at times."

"Me? Silly? No!" Isabel gasped.

"See, there's you. Don't let people define who you are, even if it's stupid friends like myself. I'm sorry I let my frustration get the best of me." Daphne said regretfully.

"Thanks, Daph. You know, you really are a good friend."

The redhead wrapped her arms around the blonde as a gesture of forgiveness.

After the two had finished hugging, Daphne spoke up. "And for the record, I don't hate the gang. In fact, I think I'm beginning to forgive them, as well as myself, in some ways."

"Yourself?" Isabel asked.

"Yeah. I mean, people go their separate ways. No reason for me to get bent out of shape about it. And I mean, I never hated Shaggy and Scooby. It's just…" The redhead was going to say _complicated_ but thought better of it.

"Just what?" Isabel asked.

"Just...Velma and Fred! Yeah, I just was mad at Velma and Fred." Daphne laughed nervously, hoping Isabel wouldn't interrogate her further.

Quickly changing the subject to avoid any uncomfortableness, Daphne said "You know, when I think about it, I really like your personality."

Isabel smiled, and responded "Yeah, I like my personality too. You have any idea how fun it is for me to think I'm this cute every day?"

Daphne burst out laughing.

"What? I think everyone should of themselves as cute! We all are pretty odd and quirky, when you think about it. Everyone's fun and unique in their own way, and I think we all should embrace that part of us!"

"You have an awesome view of life, Isabel." Daphne responded, appreciating how insightful the blonde's comment truly was.

"Why thank you! I wish everyone loved life as much as I do." Isabel smiled.

Daphne and Isabel had been so caught up in talking that they hadn't even noticed that Sumley had lead them all the way to the theater room already.

"Ladies, we're here." Sumley announced. "Are you ready to venture into the unknown? Go where no man has been...well...in five years?"

Daphne let out a laugh. "I think I'm ready! Iz?"

"I volunteer as a tribute!"

"I think we're ready, Lorde." Daphne affirmed.

Sumley opened the door, which let out an ominous creak. When the dark room was fully open, he reached for the light switch slowly, unsure of what he would find. The lights flickered for a brief moment, before the room was fully visible.

"My word!" Sumley exclaimed.

The room had been completely trashed. Debris was fully covering the room. The material which had previously been seats was now just a sea of ripped cotton. Dried up popcorn kernels from a stationary popcorn machine were scattered all over the area, adding to the already overwhelming mess.

"No!" Sumley shouted again.

"Sumley? What happened?" Daphne asked in a panic.

"The paintings! The frames have been destroyed." Sumley said, visibly sweating with fear.

"Isn't that a good thing, though?" Isabel asked. "That means the ghosts can't come out of the paintings anymore!"

"That's just it, though. I didn't tell you ladies this previously, as I didn't find it to be relevant. When I acquired these paintings, the man I purchased them from told me to make sure the frames never become damaged, or the consequences could be drastic."

"Why did you buy them then?" Isabel was very confused by this notion, as surely the seller's ominous language should have been a hint for Sumley to not complete the transaction.

"Ah, you see I thought he was just being colorful at the time. But once I realized the true nature of the paintings, I have worried about damaging the frames in any way since then." Sumley elaborated.

"It's okay, I think we can still remain calm." Daphne assured. "Where's Charles? Maybe he can help us."

"I believe he went to go start on fixing lunch, so he won't be of any assistance to us, I'm afraid." Sumley said, his hand slightly shaking.

"Lorde, are you okay? Your hands look shaky." Daphne observed, beginning to become anxious.

No answer.

"Well, what exactly happens when the frames break?" Daphne asked, in one last attempt to calm the terrified man in front of her.

"That's just it, Ms. Blake! I don't know what unspeakable evil might happen!" Sumley said, stuttering with fear. "You know, I think we ought to leave this room. I don't know if I'm able to handle the suspense any longer."

"That's okay, feel free to leave, Lorde. You too, Iz. I want to stay here for just a moment; this could be our moment to catch something else on camera." Daphne explained.

All of a sudden, the lights began to flicker.

"Uh...maybe I should leave." Daphne said, beginning to give into the sea of fear which drowned her terrified mind.

As Daphne began to use the flashes of light to allow her to see the way out, the door slammed shut and the lights went entirely out.

"Shit!" Isabel blurted out, beginning to hyperventilate.

In an instant, the light returned, though it wasn't the kind any of the three wanted to see.

The light came from the essence of ten apparitions, whose ghastly yellow glow illuminated the room.

A few of the spirits were recognizable - the caped ghost from the basement, the Frankenstein's monster, the wolfman, and the ghoulish vampire all from the staircase paintings. Others were previously unseen by the two girls, which included Sumley's sea monster, a ghostly man in a Civil War uniform, a glowing person who was fully in a bug exterminator type-suit, which was bright orange, a ghostly looking woman with all black attire and a glowing white face, and some sort of strange being which looked to be just a shadow.

There also was a see-through skeleton, whose face was half raw skull and the other half a deformed, fleshy version of a human's face. The skeleton was the only one to speak, and pointed with his long, bony finger as he did so.

"You have been warned! Now you will be punished for interfering with the Spirit Lord's resting place!"

* * *

 **Author's note:**

And that's a wrap, folks!

So hopefully you enjoyed chapter 12. It was a ton of fun writing, though honestly this chapter took longer to write than any other chapter. Not for any particular reason really, I was in a bit of an odd writing mood these past four months and took lengthier breaks in between writing sessions. It seemed that whenever I wanted to write, I had no time to, and whenever I had the time to write, I was really lazy and didn't feel like writing lol.

It's been fun to be a bit looser on self-imposed writing restrictions. Like, I'll usually have an idea for a chapter and say "Oh, this will be one chapter long, or this will be a two-part chapter", etc. With this chapter, I've just kind of let myself write whatever without having an idea in mind for how long this "painting" arc will go on. At the moment, I'm thinking it will probably conclude in this next chapter, but honestly, it could go into chapter 14 too depending on how deep I decide to go with this whole "haunted paintings" plot.

I hope you all enjoyed Isabel's goofiness in this chapter, and that her whining wasn't too annoying. It ended up going on for a bit longer than I had thought it would, but I personally really enjoyed writing the "It's too much!" dialogue (hence the title of the chapter).

Another thing which you may or may not find interesting is that Isabel's life philosophies after Daphne apologizes are very similar to that of my own. Well, besides the thinking she's cute thing, but I guess if you go through life thinking you're really cute all the time, then good for you lol!

"We all are pretty odd and quirky, when you think about it. Everyone's fun and unique in their own way, and I think we all should embrace that part of us!"

And I don't mean that in a sappy "aww, we're all special!" way, but I think all of us humans are very interesting and unique in our own way, and when you think about it, it is pretty amazing how we all have our own little (or big) quirks in our personalities. I guess from my perspective, it's all about embracing your quirks and loving your unique identity. In today's society, there is SO much conformity and intolerance for differences, yet we all are so different in our own amazing way. And that just got way more preachy than I wanted it to, lol.

The "Clingyandannoying" last name that Daphne jokingly gave Isabel was a last-minute addition. I was going to have Lorde Sumley, who as you probably can tell speaks very formally, refer to Isabel by her last name. However, I quickly realized I haven't actually ever given Isabel a last name yet, so the "Clingyandannoying" name is sort of a filler in absence of coming up with a last name for her. At some point, I'll probably come up with something and put it in the story, but for now that's just a funny little addition alluding to my mistaken perception that I had come up with last names for every character.

As always, I included a lot of references to other Scooby stuff and random other shows/movies. And that means it's reference time!

The cloaked ghoul is a reference to the ghoul that giggled as he took Shaggy's exterminator equipment in "The Exterminator" As a refresher, these past two chapters have both been subtle "reimaginings" of this episode from The New Scooby-Doo Movies, which guest starred Don Adams. The ghost bird with the piggy bank is also a reference to this episode, as well as the vampire, Frankenstein's monster, wolfman and sea monster in the final scene of this chapter. The theater room is additionally a reference to the one in the episode.

"I volunteer as a tribute!" is a reference to Katniss's famous line from The Hunger Games. I thought it might be fun to include a reference to the book/film series, seeing as I'm quite fond of it and I had mentioned it previously in the author's notes for chapter 8.

This isn't a reference per se, but when I was writing the "half-formed fleshy skeleton," I was thinking of Morgan Moonscar's transformation in the pit with Shaggy and Scooby from "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island." Just thought that might be interesting/fun to mention, seeing as this is a continuation of Zombie Island after all.

Thank you so much again to everyone who read this, and I really hope you're enjoying this story so far! As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated, even if it's just general comments or whatever about how you felt.

Until next time, with "lucky" chapter 13! :)


	13. A Jolly Good Chapter!

Daphne's mind began racing with anxiety and pure fear.

Speaking in a very frightened whisper, the redhead leaned over to Sumley and asked "Is there any way out?"

Sumley just nodded over to the back door of the theater room, where there were no spirits.

"You cannot escape the Spirit Lord!" the skeleton rasped.

"We're sure gonna try!" Daphne whispered to Sumley and Isabel.

Sumley counted to three on his fingers, and motioned for the girls to run towards the back door. The spirits followed them and floated right behind them.

Daphne's hand was the first to pull on the wooden door's handle, and in her terrified state, nearly slammed it shut on her two frantic companions. Continuing her pace, Daphne sprinted down the way they came and didn't bother to look back to see if Isabel and Sumley were following. When they reached the living area and the stairs the three had originated at, Daphne slowed her sprint and began breathing heavily, though she couldn't decipher if it was from anxiety or exhaustion. Sumley was the first to speak.

"I see we have all made it back safely. Is everyone alright?"

Still short of breath, the redhead responded an exasperated "yeah," as it's all she could get out at the moment.

After a minute had passed, Daphne turned to Isabel, who still hadn't said anything yet.

"How are you feeling, Iz?"

"Scared and gross." Daphne was confused by the latter descriptor, until she glanced over to see her friend had worked up quite a sweat from all the running. The blonde had taken off her pink sweater, leaving only a blue tank top which was now covered in sweat stains. The trio had run nearly halfway across the house before finally stopping to breath.

Sumley looked over his shoulder, before inquiring "did anyone see if those dreadful apparitions followed us?"

Daphne glanced around the house, but saw no signs of any spirits.

"No, I think we lost them. A little too easily, if you ask me."

Sumley looked puzzled by her odd comment.

"Whatever do you mean, Ms. Blake?"

"It was hard to tell, since we were running so fast. But if these are ghosts, shouldn't they have been easily able to catch us? They floated in super quickly when they first surrounded us, but then when we escaped, it seemed like they were intentionally really slow."

"Hrmm, you may have a point there!" Sumley perked up.

"I think we have to go back to that theater room and check it out." Daphne answered.

"I'm all for a jolly good time and all that, but those apparitions nearly annihilated us!" Sumley pointed out.

"You don't have to go, you know. I'm the one who's looking for footage, so if you don't want to risk it, that's totally fine by me." Daphne offered.

"No, no. They're my ghosts, and it would be dreadful if you or Ms. Isabel got injured because of my cowardice."

"Wait... who says I'm going? I've got to take a shower, my back is literally soaked." Isabel snarked.

"You know, you could take off the scarf." Daphne suggested, pointing out the poofy gray scarf which Isabel was still wearing.

"Then what's going to keep my neck from getting...um...moonburn?"

Daphne rolled her eyes at her friend's imagined ailment. "Admit it, you just like how pretty you think you look in that scarf."

"I know, don't I look so cute?"

"Uh...yeah, sure." Daphne said, semi-sarcastically.

"Look at me!" Isabel said, trying to emphasize her cuteness and playing with her hair.

"You better get in the shower then before the moon comes out. That damn moonburn knows no limits!" Daphne joked.

Isabel didn't respond and walked up the stairs.

"I repeat, how are you two working together again?" Sumley commented.

"I know! She's a lot of work." Daphne rolled her eyes at Isabel's odd personality.

* * *

Sumley and Daphne walked to the theater room, both nervous about what they would find. Daphne wanted to find the ghosts again, so she could test out her theory, and more importantly get them on film. On the other hand, she was a rational person who didn't want to be killed by ghosts!

"Who wants to go first?" Sumley inquired.

"I will, it's my show." Daphne boldly declared.

Daphne stepped in the room, and saw…nothing.

"Lorde, come in here!" Daphne called.

"Yes, what is it, my dear?" Sumley frantically asked, wondering if Daphne's serious tone meant certain peril. "I don't see anything. Nothing at all."

"That's the thing. You'd think the ghosts would be still here."

"Maybe they went back in their paintings. You know, you should really consider leaving...for your own good, of course."

"Lorde? I thought you said to remain confident, and go after the real paranormal stories." Daphne responded, confused as to what Sumley was insinuating.

"I did, but I'm afraid I'm a bit shook up by this. I've never had these phantoms leave their paintings before, much less attack us and talk of a Spirit Lord!" Sumley clarified. "I don't want anyone to be injured due to my negligence."

"Lorde, I said I'd help you, and I'm a woman of my word. I'm going to document footage of what you're dealing with and make sure people know about it coast to coast." Daphne giggled at her pun. "Sorry, some writer humor there."

Daphne glanced over towards the theater's movie projector, placed firmly against the wall. She instantly noticed a roll of film, which looked hastily shoved in the projector. Daphne walked over towards the roll of film, and took it out for further inspection.

"Michael Jackson in: The Coach Who Ate Pizza Out of the Trash" she read. "You like Michael Jackson, Lorde?"

"Ah no, that was from my children. They were here a few months ago and wanted to watch some claptrap about a gym coach who ate pizza out of the trash. Quite silly, really."

"Wait...I thought Charles said you hadn't had any visitors here in years." Daphne interrogated.

"Oh...yes...I forget how fast time goes by sometimes." Sumley hastily responded.

Daphne was puzzled by Sumley's awkward response. Sumley seemed like a man of his word, but he was acting quite oddly ever since they re-entered the theater room. Before the thought had time to play out in her brain, Daphne noticed another roll of film, neatly hidden behind the projector.

Daphne was about to put the film in the projector, until she heard Sumley's bellowing voice.

"No, don't do that! It could...uh...spontaneously explode!"

Daphne burst out laughing. "What's wrong with you, Lorde? It's a roll of film, not an active grenade!"

"I sincerely apologize Ms. Blake, but as I said, I'm a bit on edge. I guess there's no harm in trying the film." Sumley said.

"No worries!" Daphne said, "Let's try it out."

Daphne queued up the roll in the proper area of the projector, and started the film. Much to her surprise, the sight was a very familiar one.

"Lorde! It's the ghosts!"

Sumley looked at the projected image on the screen. "Why by jove, it is! What do you think it could mean?"

"Well, it means someone's trying to scare us out. It must mean the ghosts aren't real at all!" Daphne had an epiphany at the thought.

"I wouldn't be hasty! Maybe just this image was staged? But who would have gone to all the trouble to set that up? And how would they have gotten in the house?" Sumley questioned.

"That's just it, maybe they already _were_ in the house!" Daphne articulated as the thoughts came to her mind.

"Whatever could you mean, Ms. Blake?" Sumley asked, with a befuddled look on his face.

"Charles wasn't with us any of the times the spirits appeared. Maybe he wants to scare you out?" Daphne suggested.

"Why, I'm offended at the very suggestion of that! Charles has been a faithful servant for over 20 years, why would he wait this long to try to frighten me?" Sumley snarled, clearly frustrated by Daphne's unsubstantiated claims.

"I'm sorry, Lorde. I was just brainstorming, I didn't mean to offend you." Daphne apologized.

"No, it's quite alright, Ms. Blake." Sumley's tone switched from a hostile one to a calm, conversational one. "I should not have been so quick to anger."

"Who do you think it could be, then?" Daphne pondered.

"You may actually have a point with Charles, to an extent. You see, he loves a good practical joke every now and then. He could have been just trying to frighten us." Sumley mentioned.

"Speaking of Charles, where is he?"

"Ah, he's most likely in the kitchen preparing dinner."

"Then let's go see Charles." Daphne said determinedly.

* * *

When Sumley and Daphne returned to the main living area at the base of the stairs, Isabel was just coming down from her shower. She was now wearing a yellow blouse, which had several varieties of flowers all over the front, in addition to a black skirt and purple combat boots.

"You look fancy!" Daphne commented.

"Thanks!" Isabel replied. "What did you two find in the theater room?"

"No ghosts, but we found that those creeps that chased us out of there earlier were just projections." Daphne explained.

"How did the skeleton speak, then?" Isabel tilted her head to one side, to show her confusion.

"We're not sure, but presumably by a voice recording. He only said 'Spirit Lord Donne' about a billion times, so that easily could have been a recording." Daphne elaborated.

"That's super interesting! Where are you guys heading now?"

Daphne glanced over at Sumley.

"I think to see Charles in the kitchen." Sumley nodded in response to Daphne's comment.

"Mmm, I'm starving. What's for dinner?" Isabel smiled.

"I'm afraid it's not about dinner, Ms. Isabel. We are going to see Charles about a matter regarding his practical joke." Sumley responded.

"It's not?" Isabel made a pouty face.

Daphne rolled her eyes again at Isabel's poor attempt at a joke. It didn't take long for Isabel to perk up once Charles came in the room, announcing "Dinner is nearly ready!"

"Charles, did you by any chance set up that projector with the ghosts as a joke?" Daphne inquired.

"I wouldn't dream of playing such a tasteless prank, Ms. Blake. My only business here is to serve Mr. Sumley, not scare him witless."

"I think you meant sh-" Isabel was stopped from cursing by Daphne's loud interruptive tone.

"Yeah…uh...he meant sh-shirtless." Daphne stuttered to come up with a word to cover up Isabel's improper and vulgar alternative.

"Oh my, I was scared shirtless once!" Sumley said, much to everyone's surprise. "Me and my comrades were on a hunting trip once you see, and this grizzly bear attempted to claw me to death. I was so scared, the grizzly bear ripped off my shirt with his menacing claws, and I ran off not noticing I had lost it!" Sumley laughed heartily at his own misfortune.

Daphne quite frankly didn't want to imagine Sumley "scared shirtless," as he was quite a large man and that would not be a particularly attractive sight.

"So you weren't the one to try to scare us with that projector?" Daphne repeated.

"No, but whoever it was must have broken into the house. Master Sumley, we must notify the police at once." Charles said urgently.

"No, that won't be necessary, Charles. We have the situation under control." Sumley insisted.

"But sir, what if the intruder harmed our guests? I must insist that we notify the authorities at once." Charles persisted.

"No, Charles. I'm afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you, or our guests."

Daphne noticed Isabel's shoulders visibly tense up, as the redhead's did the very same with anxiety.

"I am responsible for the projector ghosts, as well as the spirit we saw in the basement." Sumley admitted.

"What? Why would you do that?" Daphne felt her muscles continue to tighten.

"It has something to do with what I told Ms. Blake at the beginning of our visit. You see, I have had countless TV reporters, paranormal investigative personalities, and unwanted visitors try to make a mockery out of my quaint home. Sure, there are real ghosts in the paintings, but all the filmmakers and ghost hunters set out to twist the truth, and make it sound like all apparitions are bad. That's apparitionism, damn it!" Sumley slammed his fist down on the table, to accentuate his point.

"There's no "Spirit Lord Donne" then?" Daphne questioned.

"No, I'm afraid I invented the 'Spirit Lord' to frighten you off. I'm so damn tired of having people twist my lovely home to make it something it's not. Films like 'House of Horrors,' which I believe you mentioned you and your friend had watched, make my house seem as if it's a disaster zone of angry spirits. The spirits in these paintings have been nothing but kind to myself and Charles, as well as my children and late wife."

"Yeah, about your children though. You said you hadn't had visitors in years, then you contradicted yourself and said your children visited just a few months ago."

"Yes, I'm afraid my solitude was a figment of my alternate persona. Making myself seem secluded and frightened was a ploy to try to scare you off. I had, admittedly, hoped you were the type that scared easy. When that didn't work, I had to resort to more drastic measures such as the scar-faced man and the projected ghosts."

"But you were in the room while the scar-faced ghost was chasing me." Daphne responded, still unclear.

"Ah yes, that was the work of a programmed dummy. I placed a tape recorder under the dummy's clothes, so it appeared it was "speaking" to you. I had planted a tape recorder in the theater room before you awakened this morning." Sumley elaborated.

"Lorde, I'm going to make the film you always wanted. I'm going to chase something much more important than any ghost or ghoul: the truth!" Daphne announced.

"No need, Ms. Blake." Sumley stated humbly. "I'm quite used to the inaccurate misrepresentation of my career and home. No need to take pity on me."

"It won't be taking pity." Isabel jumped in. "It'll be fun, right Daph?"

"Sure! It'll go a long way to stop people's 'apparitionist' views." Daphne replied.

"Jolly good then!" Sumley perked up. "How can I help? Filming? Writing? Costumes?"

Isabel was immediately excited by the mention of 'costumes.' "What kind of costumes?" she chirped.

"Oh, any kind your heart desires! I have a bunch of old costumes from previous films I've directed, from both male and female actors and actresses." Sumley mentioned.

"Great, we'll take a look," Daphne replied, "Where are the costumes at?"

"In the downstairs coat closet." Sumley answered.

"Okie dokie, let's make ourselves a movie!" Daphne's voice raised from a normal conversational level to a visibly excited level of cheeriness.

* * *

The girls followed Lorde Sumley to his closet, where they found costumes galore.

"Wow Lorde, how did you get so many costumes?" Daphne asked, after opening the closet door with her right hand.

"I've kept every costume from every production I've made. Well, bar a few that the actors and actresses wanted to take home."

Isabel pulled out a black sweatshirt, which had faux fur lined all throughout the inside of it. The blonde rubbed the side of her cheek on the sweatshirt, and her eyes lit up with an awe-inspired look.

"Lo-o-o-ve it!" she blurt out.

If there was one thing in the world Daphne loved, it was clothes shopping. Picking out all these clothes for free was both a dream-come-true and a punishment, because she only was allowed to pick one out of all these gorgeous outfits.

Her eye caught a purple blouse, which had frills around the sleeves and had lovely pink roses on the front. She knew that was the one she wanted, but now she had to pick out what pants she would wear, and what accessories she wanted, if any at all.

Isabel already had picked out her outfit, a white dress which had pink flowers on the sleeves along with the black fur-lined sweatshirt she had picked out earlier. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Daphne pick up the purple blouse.

"Oh, Daph, what about this one?" Isabel showed her friend another purple blouse.

"That has green aliens all over it, though!" Daphne scoffed. "That's something I would have worn when I was like, 14. That was when I just started getting into my own fashion."

"Alright, can't say I didn't try," the blonde responded.

"Your outfit looks really cute, Iz." Daphne commented.

"Thanks, I feel like it needs one more thing though. Like an accessory of some sort."

Isabel dug through the drawer of various accessories, which had a wide variety of necklaces, bracelets, headbands and other assorted fashionable items. After she had nearly gotten to the bottom, Isabel's eyes changed from a curious glance to a dreamy-eyed gaze.

"Perfect!" Isabel grabbed an item, which looked like a small black dog collar to Daphne, and put it around her neck. The blonde picked up on Daphne's lack of understanding of alternative fashion, and simply articulated, "It's a choker."

"Doesn't that...um...choke you?" Daphne said, looking a bit uncertain of Isabel's odd selection.

"No, it's basically just like a tight necklace. It's actually super comfortable."

"Alright," Daphne shrugged, "I guess we should get back up to Lorde."

"Did you pick out your pants yet?" Isabel asked.

Daphne quicked scanned the closet. "This looks cute!" the redhead said as her gaze shifted to a purple skirt.

"Purple with purple." Isabel said. "Classic Daphne."

* * *

"Ready for take one?" Sumley shouted.

"Ready for take one!" Daphne answered.

"Ready for take one!" Isabel echoed.

"3, 2, 1, action!" Daphne confirmed.

Of course, Sumley had to do a fancy introduction for the audience, before Daphne got a chance to clear her throat so she could speak.

"Hello again, ladies and gents. I am Sumley, Lorde Sumley to be precise. Today, your hostess, Daphne Blake and I are delving deep into the basement of my haunted home. Albeit, this time, we are not talking about an evil spirit or spirits, rather, we are talking about how spirits can be friendly."

Daphne shifted the camera over to Isabel, who to everyone's surprise, motioned to the camera and blurted out "Fight back against apparitionism, damn it! Word!" Isabel suddenly did a sort of movement with her hand towards the camera which one would see a rapper do, and moved out of the camera's vision. The redhead fought back the urge to giggle.

Daphne slowly moved the camera along the walls, where the spirit-filled paintings sat silently. After the panorama of the room was nearly finished, Sumley frantically called Daphne's attention.

"Look, Ms. Blake!"

Daphne spun around, to see none other than the scar-faced ghost in the painting. Still in its frame, the ghost briefly nodded in an appreciative manner and smiled, before going back to a state of stillness.

Though the ghost still freaked her out, the redhead couldn't help but smiling. The ghost was clearly grateful to all of them for showing the world that not all spirits are out to do evil. As Isabel put it, they were going to 'fight back against apparitionism, damn it.'

* * *

Daphne had hoped for a more exciting rest of the afternoon whilst the trio filmed, but no other spirits stirred. They didn't even see so much as a painting move. However, Daphne was still proud that she had done the film, and was doing her part to show that not all ghosts are evil. Daphne had discussed possibilities with Sumley and Isabel, and in the end, decided to make their 'film' into a very special episode of _Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake_. Through utilizing some of the other film she had done before she knew Sumley was behind the matter, and an explanation of how ghosts can be 'good', it was going to be an amazing episode.

They had even decided to stay the night in Sumley's house, but nothing particularly eventful happened besides a delicious breakfast with Sumley and Charles.

Daphne thought back on her and Isabel's two-day stay at Sumley's residence as she walked down the stairs with her suitcase. Her and Isabel were about to leave and go back home.

"Thank you again, Daphne for stopping by. Your film will do wonders for my personal reputation as an actor, not to mention the false rumors surrounding my lovely home. I look forward to seeing the film on your show once it airs." Sumley said. Even though it wasn't true that he didn't have any visitors, as he'd previously alluded to when the girls showed up, he still seemed slightly sad that they were leaving so soon. "Great to meet you as well, Isabel. Thank you for all your help in making this film."

"Great to meet you as well, Lorde. May I ask a small favor?" Isabel requested

"Why of course!" Sumley replied jovially. "It's the least I can do to repay you and Ms. Blake for such a kind act."

"Can I pretty please keep the choker?" Isabel asked, smiling in a look-how-cute-I-am way.

"Oh, I suppose I no longer need it. It was worn by the great actress Vanna Pira in the film 'The Reluctant Werewolf'." Sumley informed. "Ah, that takes me back."

"Well, thank _you_ , Lorde, for all you've done for us. It's been wonderful staying in your home and filming for my show." Daphne said.

"It was my pleasure, ladies." Sumley bowed with respect. "Now, I'll go downstairs and get Isabel's choker."

"Oh, you won't need to be doing that." Isabel smirked, as she pulled the black choker out of her pants pocket, and began to cradle it in her arms like a warm puppy. "Oh Chokie, I will hold you tight and never let you go!"

Daphne rolled her eyes at Isabel's goofiness, as she and the blonde brought her suitcase to their car outside.

"Goodbye ladies!" Sumley waved from the open front door, as the girls proceeded to get in the car.

Isabel loaded up her four suitcases into the trunk. Daphne still wondered what exactly it was she had in the third and fourth suitcase, and was beginning to wonder if it really was "kinky lovemaking accessories" as she had joked before. The redhead initially fought back the urge to ask, but the uncertainty overtook her until she said "Iz, what exactly is in those suitcases?"

"I suppose I can tell you now. And no, it's NOT kinky lovemaking accessories or heavy weaponry." Isabel unzipped one of the suitcases, to reveal a brand new camera.

"I just wanted to thank you, Daphne, for being such a great friend. You have been so generous and loving, not to mention accepting of my quirks, something that I can't really say about most of my friends, sadly. I wanted to give you a token of my appreciation."

Daphne was dumbstruck with happiness, so much that she immediately spread her arms and gave her cheerful companion a big hug.

"What's in the other suitcase, then?" Daphne asked, after the two ceased hugging.

"Well, I know how you always hate holding the camera, and you told me how it fell in the quicksand that one time. I wanted to get you an extra special tripod, to show what an extra special friend you are. It's the sturdiest they had!" Isabel smiled.

Daphne didn't want to be overly affectionate, though she fought the urge to give Isabel another long hug.

"Thank you, Isabel. You have been an amazing friend as well!"

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate your constant kindness. When I was in the other Mystery Inc. cover group with Saggy, Thelma and Dred, I always wanted to meet you, and be exactly like you. Admittedly, you were a huge inspiration for me, and it's hard to believe I actually met you now and we're friends. If that's not fate, I don't know what is. I believe in life, so much."

Isabel began tearing up. The redhead simply hugged her again and allowed Isabel to rest her head on her shoulder after they got in the car.

* * *

It had been a long drive, but they were almost home. Isabel gazed dreamily out the car window at the beautiful pine trees, which seemed to go on forever.

"So, what are you up to now that we're almost home?" Isabel asked Daphne, who was twirling a strand of her hair with her left hand, as she drove with her right.

"Actually, I'm going on another trip." Daphne said, much to the blonde's surprise.

"For the show?" she asked.

"No, for once I'm going to take a little vacation. It's an old friend from high school's birthday and I'm going to go visit her." Daphne responded.

"One of the gang?" Isabel questioned out of curiosity.

"No, her name's Lisa Vanoff. When the gang and I were still together, we helped her solve a mystery at her - or rather, her uncle's - hotel. The hotel was supposed being haunted by the ghost of her grandfather, who was a vampire. It turned out it was just her uncle trying to scare her away so he could own the hotel."

"Ooh, aren't you going to bring your camera then, so you can catch a vampire on film? That would be so cool!" Isabel chirped.

"I'll bring it just in case, yeah. But there's no vampires in her hotel anymore, it was all just a story her uncle made up to scare Lisa. Besides she's a strong, independent young woman now. She probably doesn't even believe in vampires. It'll only be a few nights anyways, what's the chance of seeing anything?"

As the two girls pulled into Daphne's driveway, Isabel closed the conversation by saying "Well, I hope you and Lisa have a fang-tastic time!"

* * *

 **Author's note:**

I'm sorry, I had to! That "fangtastic" pun was just too good to pass up haha. Those of you who know me from elsewhere probably know how much I love Sybella (from Ghoul School) and her fangtastic puns!

Anywho I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was really fun getting to write this chapter, as well as the last two. I've always had a soft spot for "The Exterminator" episode, and I thought the whole idea of a haunted horror movie actor's house fit really well with this particular story. You'll notice I threw in a bunch of Easter Eggs from the original episode as well, including Lorde Sumley being the villain, the gang (in this case, Daphne and Isabel) forgiving him and helping him make the movie he wanted, and even the "ready for take one" bit which is said at the end of the original episode.

I'm also really looking forward to next chapter as well! I've had the idea of bringing Daphne back to Lisa Vanoff's hotel almost since I started writing chapter 1, so I'm excited to finally get to write it. I've always loved how dark "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats" (from _The Scooby-Doo Show_ ) got, so I think it will fit really nicely with the tone of this fanfic and how dark Zombie Island was.

Oh and I suppose I should explain the choker bit. Chokers are actually becoming pretty common fashion now, and after a friend and I were discussing it, we both thought it fit really nicely with Isabel's character, so I decided to add it in. I actually didn't know much about chokers before our conversation though (I'm not super up-to-date on the latest fashion trends, lol), so Daphne's reaction was actually my reaction, copied from the message where we discussed it. "Doesn't that...um...choke you?" lol.

As per usual, it's reference time!

"Michael Jackson in: The Coach Who Ate Pizza Out of the Trash" is a reference to the recent live-action movie _Daphne & Velma_. This is my absolute favorite part of the movie, where Daphne tells Velma to "look over there" (meaning to a lunch cart) and she instead looks at the gym coach, who is literally eating pizza out of the trash. Fantastic movie btw, and you all should totally give it a chance. Scooby doesn't appear in it, and it's a bit different than what us Scooby fans are used to, but nonetheless it's still a silly, heartwarming movie that's definitely worth a watch.

Sumley's line about the "great actress Vanna Pira in the film 'The Reluctant Werewolf'" is an obvious reference to Dracula's wife (or girlfriend?) Vanna Pira in the film _Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf_.

The purple alien shirt that Isabel points out to Daphne is another reference to _Daphne & Velma_, where Daphne's senior advisor Carol gave her a purple alien shirt because Daphne liked aliens in the film. I actually added this reference in forgetting I had already done a reference to _Daphne & Velma_ earlier in the chapter. I suppose that's the downside of writing a chapter over the course of two months!

Speaking of forgetting things, I've slightly altered chapter 10 as of a few weeks ago due to an error on my part. I had originally named Lorde Sumley as Stoney Bronson (a reference to Sheriff Bronson Stone in _Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated_ ) when I wrote chapter 10 in August 2017. Afterwards, I took a bit of a break from writing and didn't begin writing chapter 11 until mid-December 2017. By that time, I had forgotten I'd already named the character "Stoney Bronson," and decided to name him Lorde Sumley as a reference to Lorne Chumley from "The Exterminator." I only realized a few weeks ago that there was an inconsistency in the names (Daphne says she's going to "Stoney Bronson's" house in chapter 10, and then in chapter 11 they go to "Lorde Sumley's" house), so I changed the name in chapter 10 to Lorde Sumley to correctly reflect what ended up happening in chapters 11-13. You readers must have been so confused, so I'm sorry for the mess-up on my part!

As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and would love it if you gave the chapter a quick review to let me know what you thought of it!


	14. From Bat to Worse

**Author's note:**

Just a brief little note before you begin reading this chapter. As I mentioned in the note for last chapter, I've had this idea for it seems like forever now, so I'm super excited to finally write it. I've always considered "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats" one of the darkest and scariest episodes of Scooby-Doo. Since Zombie Island is, without contest, the darkest movie in the Scooby-Doo franchise (there's actually quite a following of people who believe the movie should have been rated PG-13), I thought it would be fun to combine the two scariest mysteries of the franchise. Enjoy!

* * *

It felt like an eternity since Daphne had seen Lisa Vanoff. Daphne and Lisa had been close childhood friends ever since they met in the sixth grade, and if her memory served her correctly, Daphne hadn't been to visit Lisa since her eighteenth birthday.

That certainly brought back some unpleasant memories. Just after Lisa turned 18, her uncle's hotel was to become hers. However, things went awry when the ghost of her grandfather began haunting her hotel. Worse yet, Uncle Leon had informed Lisa that her grandfather was actually an undead vampire who was out to turn Lisa into a vampire.

After a terrifying night, they had eventually caught the vampire, who turned out to be none other than her Uncle Leon. Leon had betrayed his niece, all because he wanted the hotel for himself.

This caused Daphne to feel like she was a bad friend, especially after not keeping in touch with Lisa after the incident. Surely having her guardian try to chase her away forever (just for some extra cash) was a bit scarring for the poor girl, particularly since her parents had died in a horrific car crash when she was only 12. Leon had been her only remaining family, since her grandma had died recently of kidney failure, and her grandfather died at the young age of 65 due to lung cancer. Daphne had met Lisa just after her parents were killed.

Almost as clear as day, Daphne could picture Lisa crying whilst sitting alone at the school lunch table. Daphne had gone up to her and asked what was wrong, and if there was anything she could do. Grateful for a shoulder to cry on, Lisa and her hit it off after a very awkward and emotionally painful cry-session over her parents' death.

Why had she not kept in touch with Lisa?

What everyone said was certainly true, after high school, your priorities begin to change and you begin to find yourself and how you fit into life. Daphne had initially focused on mystery solving while attending college for a degree in investigative journalism and broadcast media, and Lisa was busy running her newly acquired hotel. She hadn't meant to temporarily ignore Lisa, but both girls were quite wrapped-up in their real-lives and their initially blossoming relationship was on a temporary hiatus...well, at least she hoped it was temporary.

That's why the redhead was so excited to visit her friend after 5 years. Lisa had given her a call out of the blue, and Daphne was overjoyed to hear her friend's voice again, even if it was a bit awkward and meek. Lisa had always been a shy girl, though Daphne wasn't sure if this was a part of her personality before her parents' accident or not.

Once again, the red-haired girl had planned to visit her friend Lisa at her hotel on Great Skull Island. It was a very foreboding name, but from her travels over the years, she found that name (or a variation of it) to be very common. The gang had travelled to a "Skull Island" two other times, once to solve the mystery of a ghostly inmate and another when they were captured by the ghost of Redbeard the pirate. Those certainly weren't cherished memories, and Daphne would have liked to forget about them.

Daphne had already finished packing all of her clothes, leaving out a pair of jeans and white short-sleeved shirt, which was littered with a floral pattern of green speckles. That would be her outfit for today, after all, it wasn't exactly proper for her to come in her pajamas, which she currently was in. The redhead quickly stripped the pajamas off of herself and put on the florally decorated top, the silky material leaving a soft feeling on her skin. After she had taken off her pajama bottoms, Daphne slightly struggled to put her jeans on. Even if she had only gained two pounds, travelling all the time (which meant eating out a lot) had certainly done a number on her waistline. The redhead made a mental note to begin finding healthier food options whenever she travelled.

Everything was neatly packed in suitcases and waiting for her by the front door. Grabbing a suitcase in each arm, the redhead pulled on the cold door handle and shuffled to the car.

* * *

Great Skull Island was certainly how Daphne had remembered it. The spooky fog which had encompassed the Mystery Machine five years prior was still masking the northern part of the island, as Daphne sat patiently on the ferry boat which was bringing her into the dock.

Letting out a small huff, Daphne pushed the thick red hair out of her right eye after the strong winds had blown it there.

Though she was excited to see Lisa, she couldn't have been less excited to be back on the gloomy island which time seemed to have forgotten. The dock was just as she remembered it five years ago, the very same dock which Scooby and his cousin, Scooby-Dum, had helped a man lift a coffin into the back of the Mystery Machine.

It was quite difficult to see anything else, and even the streetlamps didn't do much to help her see through the dense fog.

Daphne felt a slight jolt as the ship captain brought the ferry into the port.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are at our destination. Please exit the ferry in an orderly fashion, and enjoy your stay on Great Skull Island." the voice of the captain rasped over the ship's intercom system.

As Daphne exited the ferry, she noticed a familiar face. The young woman had blonde hair, and was wearing a yellow top with black leggings and large brown boots.

"Lisa!" Daphne ran up to the young woman, and gave her an affectionate hug. "So good to see you!"

"Great to see you too, Daphne." Lisa replied, her voice slightly cold. Daphne couldn't tell if Lisa was frustrated with her for the lack of contact, or if she was simply being her normal shy self.

Unsure of what else to say, Daphne asked "So, how's your hotel?"

Lisa's voice perked up slightly as she noticed Daphne taking an interest in her. "It's going great. Business has never been better, and I've just made several upgrades to the place. It's looking terrific so far.

If you were looking for a perky, cheerful person to talk to, Lisa certainly wasn't it. Lisa rarely showed much emotion and was quite laid-back, a bit too laid-back in Daphne's opinion. Being excited sometimes was healthy, as far as Daphne was concerned, and Lisa rarely ever showed excitement, particularly in her voice. While not monotone, her voice was always very subdued and humble.

"I'm so glad!" Daphne answered. "Let's go see it then!"

* * *

Lisa led Daphne towards her hotel, which was quite astonishing considering what it had looked like five years ago.

The hotel was furnished almost like a ski lodge now, whereas before, the building looked very run-down and, well, very much like a place where vampires would inhabit. The outside of the new hotel looked similar to that of a log cabin, with boards comprising the majority of the outer makeup. Upon entering the hotel, Daphne's eyes first turned to the deer and moose trophy heads on the walls. The inside of the hotel was also furnished in wood decor from top to bottom, the wooden floors complementing the rustic brown-tinted walls.

"This looks amazing, Lisa!" Daphne finally commented.

"Thanks. It took a lot of work, but I wanted the hotel to have a more homey feel to it. When you were here last, it looked like something out of a horror film."

Daphne wanted to laugh, until she her memory reminded her it really did look that spooky. The halls were very desolate...well, they still were, but they gave more of the vibe that one's own home would in the silence of the night. It almost felt...peaceful.

"Shall we sit and chat?" Daphne asked, pointing at a group of padded chairs over towards the lobby.

"No." Lisa said abruptly, before adding on "I'll show you our room first."

As they walked down the cold, drafty hallway, Daphne didn't see a single person lingering around the hotel, or for that matter, even any rooms that were occupied. All the rooms had their doors swung wide open and appeared dark.

"Where is everyone, Lisa?" Daphne questioned curiously.

"That's my other surprise, I suppose." Lisa revealed. "I've reserved the entire hotel for us tonight, just to sit and chat, and go where we please. No guests are in the hotel for the entire night."

Despite Lisa's subdued and understated tone, Daphne was quite excited that her blonde-haired friend had done this. It would be a great opportunity to catch up and tour the hotel without worrying about bothering anyone.

The girls quickly arrived at their room, which appeared to be the exact same room as last time she had stayed at the hotel. Two beds sat firmly in the middle of the room, along with a large dresser on the right hand side and a nightstand sitting on the edge of each bed. The room was relatively sparse decoration-wise, other than a mirror which was precariously hung on the back wall next to the dresser.

"Is this the same room Velma and I stayed in last time?" Daphne inquired.

"Yes...it's my room...I hope that's okay." Lisa said, stuttering ever-so-slightly. The redhead figured it was probably nervousness from the fact that a vampire attacked them the last time they stayed in the room. But surely no vampires were there now, in fact to imagine it seemed silly.

"Of course it's okay!" Daphne replied in a bubbly fashion. "But I think we having some catching up to do first!"

The girls had an enjoyable night of catching up on their adventures from the past few years. Actually, they were mainly Daphne's adventures from her show. Staying very in-character with Lisa's outspoken personality, the blonde barely shared anything about her life, other than she had inherited the hotel when her Uncle Leon went to jail, and had been busy running it these past several years.

"You mean you and the gang really split up because of a Moat Monster?" Lisa laughed, in fact for the very first time that night.

"Well, not exactly. The Moat Monster was sort of our breaking point. We were just so sick of the monsters always turning out to be bad guys in masks!" Daphne explained.

"Makes sense. I know I'd get tired of it." Lisa replied humbly, immediately going back to her normal shy state.

"Well, I'm pretty tired from the trip, and it's nearly midnight. What do you say we go to bed and finish catching up in the morning? We've got all day tomorrow, after all." Daphne suggested.

"Sure, whatever you want." Lisa stated.

Daphne admittedly felt bad that Lisa always seemed so shy, and she wished there was something she could do to get the blonde out of her protective shell. Then again, she couldn't exactly fix her parents dying in a horrible car accident and her uncle (which happened to be her only remaining relative) being a greedy bastard, who was willing to scare his own niece away forever just for a little extra money running a hotel.

* * *

Daphne regained consciousness in a groggy half-asleep stupor. She sleepily gazed out the window to see the beautiful full moon with dozens of stars hugged all around it. Daphne closed her eyes once more, but suddenly felt an oddly light breeze on her shoulder. The redhead decided to ignore the breeze for several minutes, but it continued to persist.

All of a sudden, she realized that it wasn't actually a light breeze. It was someone breathing on her.

Nearly frozen in her bed, Daphne cocked her head to the other side of her. There was a ghostly white face breathing directly down her neck, fangs fully gripped on her neckline. The eerily glowing vampire slowly extended its horrifying claws out, and began reaching for Daphne's throat.

The redhead's body was shaking so much she didn't know if she had the power to scream. She tried it anyway, letting out an ear-piercing sound which caused Lisa to jump right out of her bed.

"Holy shit!" Lisa blurted at the sight of the ghastly face, which was nearly on top of Daphne.

Lisa had already run out the door in sheer terror, but Daphne was still paralyzed with fear in the clutches of the vampire. Doing the only thing she could think to do, she quickly jumped and shoved her knee firmly into the vampire's stomach, enough to make it briefly stunned so she could get away.

Daphne ran as fast as she humanly could, not even giving so much as a glance behind her to see if the vampire was following her.

Sprinting down the dark hallway, Daphne went as far as she felt she could run before ducking into a seemingly empty room, hoping the vampire didn't see her.

She couldn't let herself be trapped however, so she quickly peered out the door before shutting and locking it. The hallway was creepily quiet, with not a soul in sight.

Panting, Daphne collapsed in fear and exhaustion on the shaggy carpet. She could feel herself sweating through her pajamas, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

"DAPHNE!" a voice shouted.

Daphne screamed at the sound of her name, not knowing who else could possibly be in the room with her.

"Daphne, I'm sorry to scare you. It's me, Lisa."

Daphne's breathing slowed as she saw her familiar blonde friend in the corner.

"You scared me to death!" Daphne said, not sure whether to be annoyed or terrified.

"I'm sorry. I came in here to find the coffin."

Daphne raised her eyebrow questioningly, unsure of what Lisa meant.

"We had our coffin convention here again a few weeks back, you know, the same one that the hotel had while you and the gang stayed."

Daphne felt a sense of relief, previously unsure of what to make of the 'coffin' comment given they had just been chased by a blood-sucking vampire.

"One of our clients left a coffin here, and while I was running, I remembered that's how we trapped the vampire last time." Lisa added.

Daphne was astounded that Lisa would remember such a minimal detail that quickly, though she supposed that spending most of your days working in a hotel didn't exactly merit a lot of exciting memories. From what Lisa had briefly said earlier on, it didn't sound like much exciting had happened in her life in years.

"That's brilliant, Lisa!" Daphne exclaimed.

"I was thinking we could go over to the outdoor pool area again and trap the vampire the same way we did the previous time." Lisa suggested.

"That brings up the question of how we escape, though. For all we know, the vampire could be waiting right outside this door." Daphne pointed out.

"We'll just have to take a risk. After all, it's not like it's a _real_ vampire, right?" Lisa laughed.

Daphne mustered up a nervous giggle. If she were honest, after the things she had seen the past few months, she wasn't so sure. She had discovered there were real monsters in the world, so who was to say that this vampire wasn't real?

Very slowly, Lisa opened the door to the room with a loud creak. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she peered her head out and tiptoed into the hallway.

The dark hallway was so silent that you could probably hear a pin drop.

Lisa put a finger over her mouth to signal Daphne to remain quiet. Daphne nodded her head in affirmation, her red hair swishing to the side unintentionally.

The girls tiptoed out the door, with Lisa leading the way. Daphne had placed the coffin on one of the hotel's dollies, trying to move the large object as inaudibly as possible. For the most part, Daphne was succeeding in doing so, besides the fact that the dolly's rusty left wheel made a slight squeak every few seconds.

Both women creeped through the hallway past the reception desk and out the side door, where the outdoor pool lay in wait for them. The redhead held the door open for Lisa, while she took the coffin. Daphne followed close behind after Lisa.

Crickets could be heard around the pool, which the moon was currently shining directly on. The moonbeams reflected off of the metal ladder on the poolside, making a very pretty-looking shadow across the water.

"What do we do now?" Daphne whispered.

"We wait, I guess." Lisa shrugged.

* * *

The girls waited for what seemed like an hour, until they heard a loud crash towards the back door of the hotel. Both ladies spun around to see the shadow of what appeared to be a large deer, who had somehow gotten behind the hotel and was looking for a drink of water. The animal began walking towards the pool, but instantly got nervous when it saw Daphne and Lisa and slunk back behind the hotel, its shadow still visible. The girls kept their eye on the deer's shadow for a minute, admiring its majestic beauty.

All of a sudden, the deer's shadow began to slightly grow in size. The girls continued their intent gaze, only to see the shadow grow larger and larger. The shadow of the innocent doe suddenly morphed into that of the hideous vampire, its fangs and claws accentuated by the light of the moon.

The vampire came out from the back of the hotel, holding the lifeless deer in its hands while sucking its blood. Upon seeing the girls, the vampire dropped the insignificant animal and began running at them. Apparently, human meat was much more tantalizing than venison.

Lunging directly at their faces, the vampire would have had the currently defenseless women if not for Lisa's brave instinct to jump out of the way at the last second, causing the vampire to land in the coffin previously hidden behind their backs. Lisa shut the coffin before the disoriented blood-sucker could escape, pushing it once again into the pool.

Daphne and Lisa both breathed a breath of fresh air, safe at last.

"Nice going, Lisa!" Daphne complimented.

Lisa didn't seem to hear however, as she was still looking at the pool, horrified.

"It's okay, Lisa, we got the vampire now. We'll fish him out in a minute."

With a look of pure fear on her face, Lisa pointed at the pool, finally prompting Daphne to look. The vampire had smashed open the coffin from underwater, breaking it in two pieces and was swimming back to the metal ladder on land.

Instinctually, both girls ran as fast as they could, before the sputtering vampire had a chance to catch up to them.

The girls decided to run back inside to safety, and locked the hotel doors so the vampire couldn't get back in...well, hopefully not.

"Follow me, Daph." Lisa instructed. "I've got a place we can hide that the vampire will never find us."

Daphne didn't bother replying and kept on running, trusting in Lisa's knowledge of her hotel. Of course, she desperately wished that the vampire wouldn't get back into the hotel at all, but given he just snapped the coffin lid off like it was a twig, she wouldn't hold out much hope.

* * *

As she continued to follow Lisa to wherever her destination was, the redheaded girl was shocked to see that Lisa had taken her back to her room, the very place that the vampire had first attacked them.

"Uh Lisa, I hate to break it to you, but isn't this where the vampire found us the first time?" Daphne said, in a half-nervous half-snarky tone.

"Yes, but look!" Lisa insisted, pointing at the ventilation duct that Shaggy, Scooby and Scooby-Dum had crawled through to look for clues on their last visit.

Once again, Lisa had come up with a genius idea.

"Of all the places in the hotel, the vampire will never think to look for us here, given he didn't see us come in." Lisa explained.

"Perfect!" Daphne said, before propping her foot up on a nearby folding chair to reach the ventilation duct.

* * *

Both girls climbed through the ventilation duct as rapidly as they could, while still trying to be as quiet as possible.

A quick scan of the room showed nothing; there was only furniture with white plastic covers over it, as well as a broken clock on the wall. A light flickered as Lisa flipped a light switch, which continued to fade in and out (as if the two frightened females needed a horror movie-esque vibe to go with their intense fear of impending doom).

"I think we're safe." Daphne articulated, after several minutes had gone by without either girl saying anything.

A shrill ringing noise made both of the young adults jump nearly ten feet in anguish. While Daphne's breathing remained quick and heavy, Lisa's slightly slowed as she discovered the phone on the broken-down old desk in the corner. One leg had completely collapsed in on itself, with the initially rectangular leg now worn to a nub and in the shape of a spear.

Lisa picked up the phone, and cautiously asked "hello?"

Only heavy breathing on the other end.

"May...may I ask who's calling?" Lisa stuttered.

The sound of more heavy, labored breaths could be heard on the opposite end of the phone.

"Do you he...hear anything?" Lisa inquired, handing the phone to her redheaded friend.

Daphne listened, but heard the same heavy breaths, which began to slow until there was no noise at all. Daphne listened for a moment, but did not hear any more breathing from whoever had called them.

"Did you hear anything, Daphne?" Lisa asked.

"No, just…"

"Liiiiissssaaaa!" the voice cackled shrilly.

Daphne dropped the phone in terror on the carpet, trying not to scream to avoid being heard.

"What was it?" Lisa asked.

"Someone said your name. It was…" the redhead attempted to catch her breath, so her voice could be understood better.

Lisa waited nervously in anticipation for Daphne to recover.

"It sounded exactly the same as when your Uncle Leon dressed up as the vampire."

Lisa's heart nearly stopped.

"Do you think Leon could have escaped?" Lisa questioned. Daphne made the side observation that Lisa never actually referred to her incarcerated relative as "uncle" any longer.

"That can't be Leon." Daphne declared. "He broke open a coffin underwater like it was a Ritz cracker. Not to mention that he literally **ate** a live deer!"

"No...no...I guess it can't be Leon then. Certainly doesn't look like him, other than the fact that his cape and hair are slightly similar colors. But who could it be?" Lisa said, still holding onto the innocent hope that there may be a human under the vampire costume.

"I hate to say this, Lisa, but I think the vampire is real."

"But...but...that's impossible!" Lisa struggled for words. "There's no such thing as the supernatural, right? That's why you guys split up, the gang and you. Every monster you guys caught was just some real estate agent in a mask, right?"

"Well, yeah, but didn't you listen to the stories from my show? I've seen several real monsters now: The Spirit of Terror Hill, the ghosts in Lorde Sumley's house, not to mention the real Dracula and Frankenstein!"

Daphne purposely left out the spectre that her and Shaggy saw at Twilight Cabin. Quite frankly, that was an experience she wanted to forget.

"Yeah, but those weren't _real_ , right? It was just a publicity stunt, for your show."

Normally, Daphne would have frustrated at someone who implied that she faked that the supernatural was real just for popularity, but she understood Lisa's reluctance. She remembered when she first learned the supernatural was actually real, and it almost terrified her to death.

"I'm afraid not, Lisa. There are things out there that can't be explained any other way." Daphne assured.

"Well...we can't just run screaming all night! We have to...um...get out of here! Or better yet, catch the vampire! Yeah, we could totally do that! That will be good!" Lisa was almost manic with fear. Daphne couldn't say she ever experienced that severe of a panic reaction, but everyone handled things in their own way.

Daphne stood silently, wondering how to break it to Lisa that she hadn't actually captured any of the ghosts on her show - well, none of the real ones, at least.

"Well, how have you captured the ghosts in the past?" Lisa persisted.

"The only 'capturing' I've done of real spirits and monsters are capturing them on video camera." Daphne admitted.

"We can't just wait here for a vampire to kill us!" Lisa shouted, almost sobbing with anguish now. Her rational brain clearly wasn't programmed to be able to explain the unexplainable.

"I mean, I've seen people use wooden stakes in vampire movies." Daphne suggested, desperate to come up with something to calm her inconsolable friend.

"Yeah, yeah!" Lisa suddenly perked up, taking the sliver of hope she had. "Look at that old desk leg over there. It's all worn and nubbed from age. That spearish part could make due for a vampire killing stake!" Lisa pointed at the very pointy and sharp-looking shard of wood, which was just barely holding the desk up.

For someone who was usually shy, Lisa sure was being chatty and innovative in this time of peril. Daphne figured it must be the fact that her mind couldn't handle any more tragedy in her life, as sad of a thought as it was. First her parents die in a horrific car accident, then her uncle greedily disowns her and tries to steal her hotel, and now she was going to be potentially sucked dry by a bloodthirsty vampire? It sounded like something out of a nightmare, but it was Lisa's life.

"Uh, sure." Daphne said, very uncertain on how to handle her friend taking such initiative. "Stakes kill vampires, right?"

Lisa raised a confused eyebrow. "Yeah. Who wouldn't that kill?"

Daphne shrugged at the trueness of Lisa's statement, as she helped Lisa pound the wooden "stake" off the desk. Almost instantaneously, the wood shattered its previous connection to the rest of the desk, retaining its stake-like appearance.

"Now. How do we lure the vampire in here?" Lisa asked.

"Well, he clearly knows we're in here already given the phone call. I imagine he should be coming in any second now." Daphne replied.

As if on cue, the vampire suddenly appeared at the window. The vampire's bloodstained blue cape made it look even more menacing, not to mention its messy black hair and misshapen ears. Its skin was almost luminous with the moonlight shining in from the window.

Showing no sign of fear or vulnerability, the bloodsucking creature balled up its menacing fingers into a fist and punched directly through the outside window. Shattered glass sprayed everywhere, causing the girls to have to duck for cover under the dangerously damaged desk.

When the glass storm finally cleared, a rainbow of triumph seemed to be emerging as Lisa charged the vampire with the wooden stake. Daphne's friend was almost like a fearless soldier, not even showing to slightest sign of weakness towards her enemy. Tragically, the metaphorical rainbow turned into another cloudburst, or rather, bloodburst, when the vampire held up its hand which had shards of glass from the window embedded all throughout it. The vampire slammed its hand into Lisa's stake-holding hand, blood leaking out where the glass penetrated it.

Lisa cried out in pain the moment the sharp glass bits hit her delicate hand. Remaining strong, she quickly tossed the stake to Daphne, who was already running to Lisa's aid. Being a real vampire, the creature clearly had an impeccable desire for blood and was determined to get it anyway it could. Apparently, this meant continuing to come at Lisa's body with its glass-covered hand. Crying with intense fear and pain, the vampire was relentless and immediately went for Lisa's other hand. The creature appeared to be trying to get a steady enough bloodstream flowing in Lisa to knock her unconscious and suck her blood dry.

Feeling a sudden pang of heroism, Daphne mentally shifted her focus from Lisa to the vampire. She had the stake now, and the vampire was clearly distracted trying to kill her friend. She could save Lisa immediately, though there was no guarantee that she, or Lisa for that matter, would actually be safe from the bloodlusting fiend afterwards. She knew what she had to do. She had to put the stake directly through the vampire's heart.

The vampire had gone from simply trying to make Lisa's hands bleed to attacking her whole body, as it slowly reached its glistening claws for her neck. Daphne jumped in the vampire's path, driving the stake directly through the creature's heart. It was still mid-reach at Lisa's throat when the vampire felt the sharp stake being driven fully through its body. Suddenly, the vampire froze up and began writhing and contorting on the floor.

Immediately, Daphne turned to Lisa, whose hands were badly bleeding. Her face was not scratched by the vampire, though in the scuffle, she managed to pick up a nasty scrape across her left cheek.

"Lisa, are you okay?" Daphne shouted, terrified that the vampire may have badly injured her friend.

"I...I think so. I need to lie down after I get some bandages on my hands. And one on my face" Lisa rasped, still short of breath from the attack.

Daphne closely inspected Lisa's hand wounds and nothing appeared to be too deep, besides one spot where the vampire must have first pierced her skin. It looked ugly, but luckily it was nothing that needed emergency medical attention.

After she felt relieved her friend was alright, Daphne glanced back over at the vampire, whose rolling on the floor had nearly stopped. Within a few seconds, the vampire lay still and lifeless, the pupils in its eyes disappearing and becoming glazed over.

They had done it. They had actually killed a vampire.

* * *

Neither girl could sleep after the horrific vampire attack that night, and both lie awake still rattled from the incident. Daphne had gotten Lisa's hands all fixed up, covering it with several pieces of gauze and cotton before placing a few large, thick bandages over the various wound sites. Daphne had also placed a medium-sized band-aid over the scrape on Lisa's face.

The rest of the morning continued much like this, not doing much other than lying around at talking to each other about the experience. Daphne shared the paranormal knowledge she knew with Lisa, and informed her of the paranormal situations she had been in with more detail this time.

"So…" Lisa paused awkwardly. "Are you leaving today still?"

Daphne couldn't imagine leaving her friend alone after such a frightening and life-changing experience. With little thought necessary to put into the decision, Daphne almost instantly responded, "No. I think I'll hang out with my old high school friend for a few days longer."

Lisa lit up at Daphne's statement, her mouth slowly forming a smile of happiness.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Phew. Deep breaths.

That ended up being a lot more mature than I expected it to be. The window-shattering/glass scene was only supposed to last a few lines, but my mind kept going to darker and darker places. I feel like I should have been listening to heavy metal or something while writing this, because that got so unexpectedly hardcore lol.

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed Lisa's backstory here. I got thinking about why Lisa didn't have parents in the episode, and decided to write a bit of background info on it and why she lived with her uncle.

I also hope you all got the "Skull Island" part. If you watch _Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?_ and _The Scooby-Doo Show_ in full, there are a lot of episodes where the gang visit places named Skull Island. "Go Away Ghost Ship" had Redbeard bring Fred, Daphne and Velma out to Skull Island where he chained them up; "The Creepy Case of Old Iron Face" had the gang visit an abandoned prison on Skull Island; and of course "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats" had Great Skull Island. Seeing as "Scaredy Cats" was the only one to differentiate the otherwise identical island names, I thought it would be fun to come up with a little extra tidbit for that as well.

Reference time!

Lisa's reply to Daphne's question about if a stake would kill a vampire ("Who wouldn't that kill?") is a reference to the film _Hotel Transylvania_. In the film, Johnny asks Dracula if vampires can really be killed by a stake through the heart, to which Dracula also responds "Who wouldn't that kill?" It's such a genius line!

Actually, that about does it for references this time. Most of the references are obvious ones to Zombie Island and/or "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats" which you probably all got. Besides, I feel I usually make these author's notes too long anyways so I might as well make it short if I can, haha.

As always, I hope you all are continuing to enjoy the fanfic and any reviews, comments, follows or favorites are both welcomed and appreciated!


	15. A Trip to Tombstone Manor

**Author's note:**

Today (the date this chapter was first posted) is the 20th anniversary of Zombie Island, September 22, 2018. It's crazy to think that much time has passed since that movie came out now, I still remember when I first watched it as a kid. It still remains one of the best Scooby-Doo movies to date IMO, and I hope the franchise will go back to this style and tone someday (the "Scoobynatural" crossover certainly was very close to these 1998-2001 era DTVs, let's keep our fingers crossed for more episodes/films like it!) Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was certainly a lot of fun to write!

* * *

It was a very cold and breezy night, and the gang was out searching for a swamp monster near Creepy Crag, a desolate swamp towards the edge of Coolsville. The fog was rolling in thick, as the gang attempted to quickly solve the mystery before it was too dark to see.

"Look gang, the only way we're going to find this monster is if we split up." Fred declared. "I'll go with Scooby."

"Okay, like, I'll go with Velma then." Shaggy replied.

"Wait, what about me?" Daphne asked.

"Oops, sorry Daph. I guess you'll have to go alone." Fred replied.

The word "alone" bounced around in Daphne's head for a minute, as the scene faded into blackness.

* * *

Daphne woke up feeling rattled. Sure, it was just a dream, but she still felt quite rejected that no member of the gang wanted to go with her. It was like she was an outcast.

The redhead forced herself to purge the thought from her anxious mind. There were far more important things to think about, such as her upcoming trip. On the Mystery Weekend trip, which seemed like forever ago, Daphne and Isabel had agreed to travel with Saggy, Dred and Thelma once again up to Tombstone Manor. The fivesome wouldn't have to pay anything, as the trip was their prize for winning the Mystery Weekend competition.

While Daphne quickly tired of Dred's slapstick humor, she quite enjoyed the company of her three new friends, and was excited to be embarking on another adventure with them. She wondered if the trip would go differently now that Isabel had (seemingly) forgiven her past friends, after they had gotten in a heated argument regarding the perky blonde's choice of job. The argument was so heated, in fact, that the four friends hadn't spoken to each other since, and were shocked to see each other at the Mystery Weekend event.

The redhead had a realization as she was reliving the group's conflict in her head. What if her dream meant that she felt mentally separated from her old friends, or even worse, that her old friends no longer cared about her?

The obnoxiously loud sound of the doorbell brought Daphne out of her perseveratory train of thought.

Daphne opened the door to reveal her blonde friend Isabel...except she wasn't blonde anymore! It had been two weeks since she had last seen Isabel, and since then, her friend had dyed her hair a pretty dark-brownish color. As Isabel stood on the porch, a reddish tint could be seen towards the bottom strands of her new hair color.

"Hi!" Isabel chirped, stretching her arms out to signal a hug. Taking that signal, Daphne hugged her friend back tightly. "So good to see you again!"

"You too, it's been a while!" Daphne replied. "I love the new hair!"

"Thanks!" Isabel smiled.

Daphne wondered if her sudden dye-job had anything to do with her three old friends coming along on the trip. For as long as she lived, the natural redhead didn't think she would ever forget the time where Isabel came down to breakfast with blue-colored hair and surprised everyone.

"I'm all ready to go!" Isabel said, her voice squeaking with excitement, as it often did. The red-tinted brunette twirled her arms expressively to point at her two suitcases, one blue and one purple, which were currently placed neatly next to Daphne's car.

"Aww, only two suitcases this time?" Daphne asked playfully.

"Yeah, I had to leave all my assault rifles behind for this trip." Isabel joked in a fake-disappointed voice. "Are you almost ready to go?"

"Yep, I'm completely ready. Let's get going!" Daphne replied sarcastically. She was obviously not ready to leave yet, as she still was wearing a pair of blue pajamas with white cartoonish snowflakes on them.

Isabel giggled a bit, before finally answering "Well, I guess I'll just have to follow you around then and watch you get ready."

"Uh, I'm not sure you want to. I'm still not even showered or dressed." Daphne chuckled.

"You don't know what I want to see!" Isabel jested back.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, as she picked up a clear glass of water and took a drink.

"Oh come on, you've never heard of a sexy slumber party?" Isabel replied, sounding completely serious.

Daphne nearly spit out her glass of water, shocked at her friend's comment.

"I don't think we have _that_ kind of friendship." Daphne informed.

Isabel tried to keep a straight face, but her mouth couldn't resist slowly forming into the shape of a smile.

"No silly, I was totally joking!" Isabel smirked. "You couldn't tell I was playing deadpan?"

"Of course I could! I was just playing along." Daphne said casually.

In honesty, she actually couldn't decipher that Isabel was using dry humor. She should have guessed however, as when she thought of it, Daphne could never see Isabel being overly vulgar or sexual. Isabel may have a bit of a risqué sense of humor, but deep down, she would always be the same sweet, quirky little goofball that Daphne originally became friends with.

* * *

Daphne had fully gotten ready now (while Isabel stayed safely in the other room, watching a television program called "Shooby and Sherie"), and began wheeling her suitcase out to the car.

The redhead wore a blue sweater with a pair of casual black pants. It had somewhat, unintentionally, matched with Isabel's current outfit of a red sweater and blue jeans.

"Ready to go, Iz?"

"Yup." Isabel nodded, as she stood up and did one of her characteristically look-how-cute-I-am kitten-like stretches.

"You look cute, Isabel." Daphne said, in an attempt to humor her friend.

Isabel let out a huge sigh of relief. "Well thank God somebody said something, I've been waiting to hear that for months now."

Daphne couldn't help but smile at her friend's delightful quirkiness, even if she did act a bit strange at times.

* * *

The girls had been driving for about two hours so far, though they had nearly another two and a half to go. Tombstone Manor was pretty much on the opposite end of the state from where they were, so it took quite a while for a person to get there especially in heavy traffic, as there was now. Cars were crammed into the narrow stretch of highway, bumper to bumper, as far as the eye could see.

In attempt to make conversation, Daphne spoke up.

"How are you feeling about seeing your old friends, Iz?" the redhead asked in a concerned tone.

"Oh, fine. Looking forward to it, actually!" Isabel chirped.

Daphne didn't respond at first, but rather gave her a look of surprise.

"You know they referred to you as the b-word?" Daphne reminded.

"Booty?" Isabel spoke with a completely serious look and tone, not even cracking so much as a smile this time.

"Yes, Isabel, they called you a booty." Daphne replied sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

Isabel shrugged. "Eh, doesn't offend me. You know, I do have a really cute butt."

Daphne just stared back at her with a clearly unamused look.

"Jesus Daph, you're going to have to step up your game before we see Dred and Saggy." Isabel answered, "Their humor is way lamer than mine."

Daphne wanted to continue not being amused, though the reddish brunette was completely right. Saggy's "dude" comments would likely be almost constant, and Dred's humor was something to, as he would say, dread. Regardless, Daphne was oddly looking forward to seeing the three mystery solvers. Despite her choice to remain split off from the gang, it sometimes felt better to be in a group.

* * *

After a significant drive, they were finally at their destination.

Tombstone Manor was, to put it bluntly, exactly as described. The manor was literally in the shape of a tombstone, and was made of a dull gray-colored brick. To make it look even spookier, what Daphne assumed to be the garage area was shaped like a skull.

Daphne's blue car pulled up right alongside another red one, in which three people were currently getting out. One had a blue shirt and white pants on, another wore a red turtleneck and orange skirt, while the last man had a hippie-ish looking brown shirt on with green bell bottom pants.

"Dred, Thelma, Saggy! So good to see you all again!" Daphne said, as she walked over to where the three were unloading their luggage.

"Great to see you again too, Daphne." Thelma replied.

"What up my dude?" Saggy said, acting very in-character.

"Isabel, look at your hair! You must be so depressed." Dred said, hanging his head low as if he were also depressed.

"I love my hair. Why would I be depressed?" Isabel asked, genuinely confused.

"Because your hair DYED. Get it? Get it?" Dred obnoxiously elaborated, as he elbowed the red-tinted brunette in the ribs.

Isabel let out a loud groan at the cringe-worthiness of Dred's joke. "Yes."

"That was pretty lame, dude. Even for you!" Saggy jumped in.

"Well, regardless, it's good to see you all again as well." Isabel smiled.

All of a sudden, the five friends heard a faint noise coming from the suitcase. It sounded like that of a distressed cat.

"Did that suitcase just meow?" Isabel asked, perking her ears up to better hear the strange noise.

"Wait a minute...where's Sabrina?" Thelma looked around the interior of their car, before realizing what had happened. "Dred, why did you pack the cat in our suitcase?" she replied with a disapproving look.

"I guess you could say I was trying to avoid a cat-astrophe." Dred began snickering uncontrollably at his own joke, if you could even call it that.

The four young adults all groaned at Dred's horrible attempt at humor.

"Come on." Daphne said. "Let's get inside before Dred thinks up any more cringe-inducing jokes."

Saggy, Daphne, Isabel and Dred all walked inside, as Thelma unzipped Sabrina from the suitcase. Sabrina flicked her tail and let out an annoyed meow, as she began walking into the house with her owners.

The group immediately felt a tingling down their spine when they entered the manor. It felt like someone had left the air conditioning at 50 degrees, which not one person in the group was properly dressed for.

Everyone's eyes darted over to the far corner when they heard a loud thump. Despite the noise, nothing appeared to be there other than a mere shadow. Suddenly, the shadow began morphing into some sort of smoky essence. The shadowy cloud began to take the form of a human, though its head was tilted overly far to the left, so far that no human could take the contorted position and live. The figure began to take shape, which Daphne immediately recognized. The ghost's body was almost entirely covered in a dreary black cloak, with angrily beady red eyes and one skeletal arm hanging out.

"I know that phantom!" Daphne blurted out, frozen with fear.

"Oh, is it one of your ghoul-friends?" Dred smirked.

"Shut up, Dred!" Daphne shouted. "It's the same phantom that I encountered at Terror Hill, a haunted location I stayed in for my show."

"Stay away from this place!" The phantom said in a raspy, demented voice. "I'm watching you!"

"Someone quick, open one of those shades!" Thelma yelled the group.

Isabel rapidly darted over to the window shades, which were all currently shut tight so no light could come in. In an instant, the phantom let out a growl before vanishing into the sunlight.

"Who was that dude?" Saggy inquired, visibly a bit nervous.

"That was the spirit of Terror Hill. I encountered it when I visited Terror Hill a few months ago. My friend Velma and I stayed there overnight, in an attempt to film that ghost. We never figured out if it was real or not though, it disappeared into the morning sun before we were able to prove or disprove its existence." Daphne explained.

"It looked pretty real to me." Thelma said.

"Yeah, let's go hit the Dairy Queen and get some shakes, homie!" Saggy joked.

"What's the matter? Haven't you guys ever run into real ghosts before in your mystery-solving travels?" Daphne asked.

"No, just like you guys, we've always run into guys in masks. We never realized there were actually real spirits. I mean we kind of always guessed, but we've never seen one before." Thelma elaborated.

"Yeah, those damn crooked real estate agents seem to make up the majority of the ghosts out there." Daphne responded sarcastically.

Isabel giggled at Daphne's sarcasm, brushing her hair to the side which had unintentionally fallen over her right eye.

"That's it! I know who the ghost is!" Dred declared. "It's Joe Momma again!"

"Ugh." Thelma indirectly replied. "He's been saying that ever since the Mystery Weekend. For the last time Dred, it's not Joe Momma!"

"I didn't say it was Joe Momma. I said it was JOE Momma!" Dred defensively replied, pointing directly at Thelma.

Thelma rolled her eyes, clearly not amused with Dred's antics.

"Dred has a point, kind of." Daphne hypothesized. "You guys have solved hundreds of mysteries, just like us, right?"

Thelma, Dred and Saggy nodded.

"Who's to say that this ghost isn't another fake? We could solve this mystery together." Daphne suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Isabel said, her voice squeaking again adorably with excitement.

"Let's do this, dudes!" Saggy cheered, putting his hand in the middle. Thelma, Isabel and Daphne all followed, while Dred was the last to put his in.

Dred closed his eyes, and began speaking.

"Dear Lord. Bless this table, and continue to make sure pizza poverty is extinct. I would like to specially request that you give two pizzas per day to every hobo in order to ensure no one in the world goes hungry. Actually, make it three. Some of the hungrier hobos might need more to fill their stomachs."

"Did I just walk into a crazy house?" Isabel said, with a look of absurdity on her face.

"Maybe." Thelma replied. "But we like to think he's 'delightfully quirky.'"

Isabel rolled her eyes, as she continued to listen to Dred's bizarre prayer.

"And on the seventh day, the Lord said 'give me a slice of the sausage special'. And it was good!" Dred finished his "prayer," before looking up at the rest of the group.

"That was a cool prayer, dude. I want to end pizza poverty too!" Saggy teased.

"Enough silliness!" Thelma interrupted. "Where do we want to start looking for clues?"

"Well, let's unpack in our rooms. We are still planning to stay the night, right?"

Everyone nodded in affirmation.

"I'll go out and get our suitcases." Isabel told Daphne. "I'll be back, but you can start going upstairs if you want."

Daphne nodded, as Isabel began trekking outside towards their vehicle.

* * *

The manor looked very desolate and foreboding. All the walls were painted a spooky bluish-gray color, and the wooden floorboards creaked with every step. The stairs looked incredibly tedious and rickety, in other words not something you would want to risk climbing up.

Daphne tried it anyways, and though the steps squeaked, she didn't have any problems getting up safely.

The upstairs looked semi-nicer, though the floorboards still seemed very uneven and dangerous. There was no sign of any paranormal activity, however, at least not yet.

Creak by creak, Daphne moved her feet across the worn floorboards. A loud thud could be heard as a mouse ran out from a small gap between the wall and the floor. Daphne let out a scream, as she was terrified of both mice and the potential of being killed by a vengeful ghost.

The others ran upstairs, which in hindsight probably wasn't a great idea given the vulnerability of her being upstairs on the damaged floorboards.

"What happened?" Thelma asked, a bit panicked.

"Nothing." Daphne took a sigh of relief. "It was just some sort of mouse or rat."

"Oh good." Dred replied. "I was worried I was going to have to use my inside police knowledge. I'm a big fan of Law and Order: SJU."

"I think you meant SVU, dude. Special Victims Unit?" Saggy corrected.

"No, I meant SJU. Special Jaywalkers Unit! It's some pretty intense stuff, guys."

Everyone groaned again at Dred's idiocy, before they heard another set of feet coming up the stairs.

For a moment, Daphne felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, until she saw a familiar face.

"Did I hear a scream? Is everyone okay?" Isabel responded.

"Yeah, it was just a mouse." Daphne informed.

"Wait a minute, there's a piece of paper shoved in that mouse hole." Thelma observed.

"Well, I'm not reaching in there!" Daphne said, inching further away from the gap to show her discomfort.

"I'll do it, dudes. I'm not scared of any mouse harshin' my mellow." Saggy replied, as he reached into the hole and grabbed the torn up piece of paper.

"What does the note say?" Thelma impatiently asked.

"It's not a note, man. It's a birth record of some sort." Saggy elaborated.

"Anyone know how to steal someone's identity?" Dred said. "I hear it's pretty easy. All you have to do is spend 10-20 years in prison and then you can totally become a new person...did I get that in the right order?"

Thelma began reading the record from over Saggy's shoulder. "Fred Gruesome, born October 3, 1884. Died November 12, 1964."

"Gruesome? Like that's a pretty strange name, man." Saggy commented. "You might even call it weirdly."

"I was just about to do that!" Isabel exclaimed.

"What's the rest of it say?" Daphne questioned. "Surely an official birth record wouldn't just list the birth and death date of the guy."

"Well, it should list the rest of the information. But someone's ripped the bottom piece off." Thelma pointed to the tattered birth record.

"What does it matter, man? Like, this ghost doesn't want to be our homeboy! He wants to eff us up, dudes!" Saggy asked.

"If I've learned anything from my show about the paranormal, it's that not all ghosts are evil." Daphne deducted. "We should try to look for the rest of that birth record, and see if it might give us any clues as to who this Mr. Gruesome was."

"Uh...D-d-d-daphne?" Thelma shivered.

"Hmm?"

"Was your shadow always that big?" Thelma pointed towards the gigantic shadow surrounding Daphne. It was clearly too big to be her own, but if it wasn't hers, whose was it?

Daphne's internal question was answered by the frightening smokescreen which the shadow dissipated into, before taking the deformed shape of the Terror Hill Ghost once again.

"Do not evoke the secrets of Tombstone Manor!" it growled.

Feeling a sudden pang of bravery which she would come to instantly regret, Daphne spoke up.

"What's so bad about this 'secret' anyways?"

"Some things are meant to stay in the past! This is your final warning, stop this investigation now or the consequences will be deadly!" The ghost hissed, before it faded away once again into the shadows.

"Well, you heard the dude, let's get outta here." Saggy persuaded.

"Where's your sense of curiosity, Saggy? You're finally meeting a real, live ghost for the first time and you want to chicken out?" Daphne refuted.

"That's the idea, dude." Saggy shrugged sheepishly.

"You are all welcome to leave, but I'm staying and looking for the rest of that birth record." Daphne declared.

"So am I. I've gotta stand by my girl." Isabel smiled, as she embraced Daphne in a semi-awkward half-hug from the side.

"I'm not going anywhere. How could we call ourselves mystery solvers if we didn't pursue the unexplained?" Thelma rationalized.

"I'm staying too." Dred said. "Maybe Professor Flufftailius can assist in this perilous endeavor!"

Everyone looked over at Sabrina, who was currently giving her back right paw a thoughtful licking.

"Ah, I think I understand! We must consume ourselves with thought until we lick the surface of this mystery clean!" Dred translated.

"I guess I'll stay." Saggy reluctantly agreed. "I can't let my main homies get killed by a ghost, man!"

"Where should we look next?" Thelma inquired.

"We haven't been in the basement yet." Isabel reminded.

"Nice thought, Isabel. Let's look down there first." Daphne complimented.

* * *

The five mystery solvers ventured down into the basement, which was completely dark. The stairs were so dark in fact, that Daphne almost tripped over her own feet several times.

"I'll feel for a light switch." Thelma whispered.

"I think I feel it!" Isabel said, as her back brushed up against a rough object.

Isabel's feeling was confirmed when the lights flickered on, revealing a very messy basement. Two armchairs were precariously placed on the cold tile floor, one slightly pointed sideways in an awkward looking way. There was also a couch, which apparently the orange tabby had already claimed.

"Don't you dare make your "cat nap" joke again, Dred." Thelma warned.

"I won't. Sabrina is too busy conserving her immense wisdom for me to bother her with such tomfoolery." Dred replied in an uncharacteristically fancy manner.

"Ooh, I like your fancy voice, Dred." Isabel smiled, causing her cheeks to reveal her dimples.

Dred placed his hand on his chest and bowed, as the group continued looking for the elusive piece of the birth record.

* * *

It had been hours, and the group was all feeling exhausted. They hadn't found a single clue or the missing piece of the birth record, and they were all beginning to need a restful night of sleep.

"How's Isabel doing?" Daphne asked her friend in a concerned manner.

"Isabel's tired and cranky." Isabel replied in the third person. She was obviously trying to look cute again, though admittedly she did have her face scrunched into a very adorable pouty expression. To add to the cuteness, she purposefully brushed her hair over one eye.

"Aww. Well, we should get to sleep soon. I'm feeling tired too." Daphne responded.

"What do you say we all hit the hay and get back at it in the morning, dudes?" Saggy observed from Daphne and Isabel's exchange.

"I'm game." Thelma agreed, immediately letting out a big yawn.

"Sure." Dred affirmed.

The five young adults all sauntered up the stairs sleepily, as Sabrina quickly followed them.

* * *

Daphne woke in the middle of night to a crinkly noise.

The redhead wasn't feeling even close to fully awake, but she knew what she had heard.

She glanced over at Isabel, whom she had to share a bed with due to there only being three twin beds in the manor. Isabel was currently making her usual sleep noise, which was somewhere between a kitten snore and a puppy sneeze. She doubted Isabel intended it, but it was indeed very cute.

Figuring she must have been hearing things, she decided to go back to sleep and rest her head on the pillow. Until she heard it again. That same noise.

Lifting her head up rapidly in surprise, she rubbed her hand across the smooth pillowcase to reveal that there was a rough spot...the spot that was making the crinkling noise.

The redhead reached into the pillowcase, and discovered a tattered piece of paper. Squinting her tired eyes to better see what the content was, she made a shocking discovery: it was the rest of the birth record.

Her jaw dropped when she discovered the truth.

The missing piece included two addresses: Tombstone Manor, 711 Monster Drive and 1313 Mockingbird Lane, which was none other than Terror Hill.

* * *

Daphne couldn't wait to see the rest of her friends to reveal her findings. Unlike the Mystery Weekend, there was no breakfast, so thus they had all agreed to meet down at the dining room table. They had been in such a rush yesterday to find the piece of paper that they hadn't actually ventured through the dining room before, so this would be a new adventure for all of them.

Daphne's footsteps made creaking noises for each stair she stepped on. Her movements quickly stopped, however, when she heard two other sets of footsteps behind her. She figured it was her friends, but as a paranormal investigator, there was no such thing as being too careful.

Her presumptions were confirmed when she turned around and saw Isabel and Saggy. Saggy was wearing his normal casual brown t-shirt with green bell-bottom pants, and black tennis shoes. Isabel, however, had dressed up for whatever reason today. The reddish brunette donned a yellow maxi dress with a cheery floral pattern embroidered across the front.

"Hey, Isabel dude, these steps squeak just like your voice!" Saggy teased.

Isabel began walking down the stairs, making her voice squeak with each step she took in a joking fashion. Daphne was glad her perky friend took it so well, as quite frankly, if it were her, she would have been offended by Saggy's somewhat insensitive remark. Clearly that friend group must have had a rapport which valued being silly and expressive with one another.

"I've got something exciting to tell you once we get downstairs!" Daphne revealed.

Isabel's eyes lit up with excitement, while Saggy's stayed the same chill state they always seemed to be in.

"Guys, I've got something exciting to tell you too!" Dred announced when the group got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh boy." Isabel rolled her eyes in disamusement.

Thelma was already at the bottom of the stairs, and had made her way into the dining room. The dining room, much like the rest of the house, was painted a bluish-gray color and nearly every piece of furniture matched the bland walls. The dining room table was that same dull gray as everything else. Once everyone made their way to the dining room, they all sat down in the rock-hard excuses for chairs that the manor had. Thelma, Saggy and Isabel all excitedly waited for Daphne's revelation, while Dred was clearly excited about his own revelation.

"Saggy and I found a new funky way to eat breakfast!" Dred blurted, interrupting the redhead who was about to speak.

"Oh yeah! It's pretty cool, dudes." Saggy held up a pre-packaged TV dinner-ish breakfast. The box, which was brightly colored with a tie-dye background, read "Funky Packaged Breakfasts Y'all!" There was also a note on the side, which announced that the strange breakfasts also apparently included a new type of food.

"Now with dem awesome eggs, boiii." Saggy read the note on the package aloud.

Isabel couldn't stop herself from giggling, as the breakfast was something only Saggy would pick out.

"And a piece of toast, yo!" Dred read, pointing out another note on the opposite side of the package.

"The rest of us will be eating something else." Thelma laughed at the inaneness of the product. "Now, what was your announcement Daphne?"

"I found another part of the birth record!" Daphne cheerfully declared.

The group visibly got excited, as they waited for the redhead to continue her train of thought.

"It had two current address written on it, one here at Tombstone Manor and the other at Terror Hill. You know what that means?" Daphne asked.

"Oh my god! The ghost has a secret 'other' family?" Dred guessed.

Daphne ignored Dred's ridiculous guess and continued talking.

"The ghost is Fred Gruesome!" Daphne revealed.

"Like, that doesn't make any sense, dudes! Why would the ghost leave his birth record for us to find? It's not like it would have been tough for him to hide it." Saggy inquired.

Daphne was so excited with her finding that she admittedly hadn't thought of this. It was a good point, however. Seeing as the ghost could fly, and haunted two different residences, it should have been easy for the ghost to tear the birth record up, or even hide it between the two houses to make it tougher to discover. Yet, the birth record was pretty much intact other than it being divided into parts.

"Wait a minute, let me see that birth record, Daphne." Thelma requested, as Daphne handed it to her. "The cause of death is ripped off."

As Thelma handed the record back to Daphne, she discovered that her friend was indeed right. There was a small space which read "cause of death," but the actual information was ripped off.

"I think we all know what we have to do next." Daphne presumed.

"Breakdance like super intelligent robots of destruction are going to challenge us all to a dance battle of assassination tomorrow?" Dred hypothesized.

"Like, dude, I don't know what's in your head, Dred, but that sounds kinda badass." Saggy laughed.

"Well, the rest of us know what we have to do next." Thelma tried to bring the group back on the subject at hand.

"Where haven't we looked yet, though? We've pretty much covered the whole manor." Isabel informed.

As Isabel spoke, Daphne had a lightbulb moment and suddenly remembered something she had seen whilst upstairs.

"I saw one of those chain thingys to go up to the attic in the hall upstairs. Maybe we could check up there?" Daphne suggested.

"That's brilliant, Daph!" Thelma exclaimed.

* * *

The group all began to walk up the uneven staircase, which once again made a loud creaking noise with every soft step.

As they got to the chain which would open the attic door in the hall, Saggy was the first to give it a tug.

"Like, it's stuck, dudes." Saggy articulated his frustration.

"Let me try it." Isabel commented. With a simple pull, Isabel was able to open up the attic, causing the group to have to rapidly jump out of the way to avoid the falling door and staircase. These stairs looked even more rickety and uneven than the set leading to upstairs to their rooms. The steps were made of a thin wood which barely looked like it could hold a squirrel.

"So...um...who wants to try it first?" Daphne laughed nervously.

Saggy shrugged. "I suppose I'll go ahead, my dude."

Watching his steps, Saggy was careful as not to fall off balance or break one of the delicate stairs with his large feet. Luckily, Saggy was successful and made it all the way up the ladder without anything breaking. One by one, the rest of the group followed without issue.

The attic seemed even more desolate than the rest of the house. It didn't seem particularly well built, especially the walls which were simply pieces of plywood painted a brownish color. The attic was filled with tons of military antiques from the Civil War and World War I, which Daphne couldn't name due to her lack of military knowledge.

"Let's check in all the boxes for the birth record." Thelma suggested. "But let's do it quietly. We don't want to alert the ghost to what we're doing."

Saggy began cautiously digging through a box of Civil War memorabilia, while Isabel and Daphne searched through a box full of old personal records and medical information. Thelma took the corner, which had a box of numerous World War I weapons, and Dred glanced through a box of figurines.

"Well, this one's junk." Dred said, as he dismissively threw the valuable Civil War figurine to the ground. The figurine shattered into a million pieces, glass spreading across the floor.

"Dred!" Thelma shouted.

"What's the matter?" Dred said as he continued to "discard" the figurines by breaking them on the ground.

"I said to be quiet while we were searching! Not to mention these are expensive figurines that are worth thousands of dollars!" Thelma shot back.

"Even if his ways were misguided, you may want to be thanking Dred right now." Isabel cautioned.

Isabel pointed at the missing piece of the birth record next to the pile of broken glass, which apparently must have come out of one of the smashed figurines.

Daphne fast-walked over from the area she was searching to glance at the missing piece.

"It says…" her mouth opened with surprise a bit, once she processed what she had just read.

"What does it say?" Thelma asked, somewhat impatiently.

"Suicide." She finally articulated. "The cause of death was suicide."

Before the group had a chance to process the heavy information they were just told, another smoke screen began to form around the area of broken glass. As expected, the black cloud of mist morphed into Fred Gruesome, the Terror Hill Ghost.

"I told you not to uncover my secret! Now you shall pay for your misdeed!" the ghost rasped, its bony hand reaching through the jet black cloak.

"Wait a second." Daphne paused. "This doesn't make any sense. This birth record says you killed yourself. Why are you still here among the living, if you truly decided that this world wasn't worth living in?"

"The records are WRONG." the ghost shouted.

The group looked at each other in a confused manner, not clear on what the ghost had meant.

"There was no suicide. I was murdered, and someone YOU know very well did it!" the spirit howled, as it reached out its arm to point directly at Daphne.

"Joe Momma? I knew it was him!" Dred deducted moronically.

"Spirit...Mr. Gruesome...Fred...whatever…" Daphne stuttered. "How could someone I know do it? You were dead before I was even born."

"Don't play innocent with me, impetuous girl!" the phantom yelled. "I know you're working with him!"

"Working with who?" Daphne asked.

"Spirit, Daphne is one of my best friends. I know her incredibly well, and there's no way she would work for anyone evil." Isabel added. Even in her frightened state, Daphne felt a feeling of joy for a brief moment when Isabel called Daphne one of her best friends. They had certainly never talked about how good of friends they were, but regardless, it was very warm and fuzzy feeling to know that Isabel cared for her so much.

"You better check again, then! Ms. Blake is a traitor who works for the man whose father killed me!"

"Hold on!" Daphne had an epiphany as to what the apparition was talking about. "You mean Dan Sims?"

"Precisely! I believe you know him by the name of Jim Sands!" The phantom glared at Daphne, clearly almost unable to contain his anger.

"Mr. Gruesome, Jim Sands...I mean Dan Sims is in jail now. He tried to kidnap me and force me to cancel my show."

"WHAT?" the ghost roared.

"I swear, I wasn't aware that he was involved in anything evil until that incident. That was just a month or so ago too." Daphne pleaded.

Daphne's clear sincerity seemed to subdue the ghost slightly. His tone now went from an angry roar to a calmer, conversational tone.

"Then do you know what his father did?" the ghost inquired.

Daphne shook her head.

"Clearly you must be dedicated to actually documenting instances of real spirits then, rather than harming them. I've been watching you these past two days, and you seemed genuinely interested in finding the birth records I left."

"But...you were trying to scare us away. Why would you leave birth records behind for someone to find?" Daphne asked.

"While I was bitter...as one understandably is when they are brutally murdered...I still held out an ever-so-slight pang of hope, that someday, someone who truly cared would find them, and bring John Sims to justice."

Daphne's thoughts immediately turned to Hawaii, where they had captured a witch doctor who was actually their former friend named John Sims. She pushed the idea out of her mind, figuring they couldn't be the same person.

The ghost continued. "John Sims was the owner and proprietor of the funeral company I was the assistant manager for. While John was initially an honorable, kind man who would do anything for his employees, he later became consumed by greed. He tried to fire me, but when he couldn't do that, he came to my house and murdered me!"

"That's not extreme at all." Isabel joked, trying to make some light of this depressing situation.

"The Sims family is comprised of madmen!" The ghost shouted, his tone getting deeper and angrier again. "Once your boss, Dan Sims, found out there might be real paranormal activity out there, he sought me out from an ancient spirit summoning incantation from a spell book. You see, as I said, John Sims was an honorable man, but I was his one mistake. He acted out of fear, anger, HATRED, and made a snap decision, which I discovered he would come to regret...not enough to turn himself in and set the record straight, however."

Daphne had another "clicking" moment where it all made sense.

"So your unfinished business is bringing the Sims name to justice?"

"Precisely!" Mr. Gruesome affirmed. "Whilst his father felt intense guilt about his fatal mistake, after he died, his son Dan became consumed with that same greed and decided to set the record straight...by hiring that security guard and documenting my existence. As Dan saw it, I was the one who drove his father to the madness which caused his death."

Daphne immediately felt a bit guilty, as she had actually filmed and aired the episode which documented Mr. Gruesome's existence.

"Seeing as I'm the one who publicized your existence, do you think I could make it up to you and give you the eternal rest you've been wanting all these years?" Daphne compromised.

"I don't see how you could." Mr. Gruesome said.

"You know, I never did know your name, and you're so...umm...deformed that no one knows it was you, probably." Daphne spoke carefully as not to offend the undead spirit. "Now that Jim...I mean Dan is in jail, and I've been filming a lot of this experience, maybe you could reveal the truth...on my show."

The ghost paused a moment, before its red eyes lit up. Daphne wasn't sure if this meant she had made the spirit angry, or if it meant a different emotion. Beady red eyes on a skeletal ghost weren't exactly the most expressive way to get emotions across, after all.

"You know, that's a good idea. However, that still won't bring the Sims name to justice. No police officer is going to believe some ghost on a television show." Mr. Gruesome said, his voice lowering with frustration.

"I know one police officer who might." Daphne smiled. "My friend, Beau Neville, went along on one of my excursions for my show. He saw an instance of real paranormal activity on Zombie Island. You know, from what he's told me, he has some higher up friends that might be able to change your death certificate and John's criminal record, if he can be convincing enough. Shouldn't be hard, considering his son is currently in jail for doing a very similar thing."

The ghost's eyes lit up again, but this time, Daphne figured it was with excitement and gratitude.

"You really think he would listen to you?" Mr. Gruesome asked.

"Of course! We're good friends, after all."

"Thank you, Ms. Blake. My spirit can finally rest in peace, knowing the truth has been revealed. Thank you, all of you, for what you have done today. I shall never forget it for as long as I...don't live."

Like the flick of a light switch, the ghost disappeared into the morning sun coming in through a window at the far corner of the attic.

The group all stood, staring in awe of what they had just witnessed. For Saggy, Thelma and Dred, it was their very first experience with the supernatural. Daphne remembered how terrified and shocked she had been whilst her and the gang were on Zombie Island together, so nonetheless they must be feeling the exact same way. Daphne and Isabel did their best to help their three friends process through the both confusing and exciting experience before they left later that afternoon.

* * *

It felt like time had absolutely flown by. Daphne could hardly believe her and Isabel were already parting ways with Thelma, Saggy and Dred and getting ready to leave Tombstone Manor.

"It was great seeing you all again!" Daphne commented. "This was an amazing experience, and I hope we'll get to see you again soon."

"I don't think we'll be forgetting this experience for as long as we live." Thelma laughed.

"Of course we'll see you again, homies! You dudes are the bomb!" Saggy said in an almost ostentatiously excited tone.

"Bye Sabrina!" Daphne waved at the orange tabby, who was already curled up in her self-declared perfect napping spot in the car. The tabby let out a quiet meow in response and immediately went back to her rest.

"Good to see you again, Dred." Daphne said as Dred approached her. "Good luck stopping Pizza Poverty!" she added, unsure of what else to say.

"Yeah, it'll be a big task, but I can handle it." Dred said in almost braggish fashion. "The tough part will be taking down that crafty mob boss, Papa Murphy the Third. Damn shady bastard!"

Daphne's eyes rolled a bit, shocked by what Dred had just said. "Well, okay then. Good luck!"

Daphne looked over to Isabel, who was currently giving a very passionate looking hug to Thelma.

"Bye everyone!" Isabel chirped, as she got onto the comfy seat of Daphne's car and shut the door.

Daphne quickly did the same, and her and Isabel both waved as they drove away from the rest of the group, who were currently finishing doing some last minute packing before they left.

Daphne hadn't seen Isabel be that open and comfortable with her previous friends ever, which made her wonder a bit how the change in Isabel's level of comfort came about.

Unsure how else to bring up the subject, the redhead simply commented "I'm really glad to see you're getting along so well again with your old friends. I was a bit worried you weren't ever going to forgive them."

Isabel shrugged her shoulders, pausing for a moment before she spoke to organize her thoughts.

"Yeah, I mean we grew apart, but that happens in a lot of friendships. I know they" were really mean to me before, but they clearly feel bad about it, and fights often happen in close friendships."

"You don't feel horrible that they called you a -" Daphne was cut off by Isabel interrupting her, to finish her thought.

"Bitch? Well, I did at first, obviously. After all, they did say that I was stupid to dream of becoming famous working in TV. They claimed it was a 'stereotypical' female thing to want to be popular and famous, especially on television. Honestly, I hate being a girl sometimes. You have to deal with so many stereotypes like that."

Once again, Daphne had another moment where a comment Isabel had made long ago clicked. She remembered back to Isabel's cry-fest in the basement of Cerrie Mansion, where she seemed to say she hated being a girl but didn't provide any apparent reason, or for how it was relevant to the conversation for that matter.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Daphne replied simply.

"But I've gotten over it. That's part of having strong emotions for someone, whether it's a romantic relationship or a close group of friends. There's a lot of silly misunderstanding, and people make mistakes. They're only human after all."

Isabel continued speaking, accidentally cutting off Daphne's respond to her last "only human" comment.

"But to answer your question, I did feel bad at first, but I'm starting to forgive them. I shouldn't have ever forgotten what good friends they've been to me over the years. I'm sure I've made stupid petty mistakes too at some point in our friendship."

Daphne had to smile once again at Isabel's optimistic worldview. She also initially smiled again at the parallel to her own friend group - the Mystery Inc. gang - and that maybe someday, they could become close friends again and forgive each other for being distant from one another.

But the one question that troubled her most was, could she ever forgive herself for leaving them behind?

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This was a fun one to write for many different reasons, one large one being that I've really enjoyed writing for Dred, Thelma and Saggy. They're really interesting, three-dimensional characters, who were admittedly supposed to only be in chapters 7 and 8. I liked writing them so much, however, that I knew I couldn't just have them be one-offs and decided to create the "Tombstone Manor" scenario so I could write them again. It actually ended up working quite nicely, given I was able to tie up a few loose ends with the Terror Hill Ghost.

Speaking of tying up loose ends, Isabel's comment about being a girl and negative stereotypes were an attempt to help explain Isabel's random "I hate being a girl!" comment in chapter 8. Admittedly, I've thought that line sounded very poor and out of place since I first wrote it, and have been trying to think of a way to explain why she said it since. Why did I keep it in then, you're probably wondering? Occasionally, as a writer, I will add in little in-jokes and references between friends that I know are reading this fanfic just for fun. This "I hate being a girl!" comment was one of those, which unfortunately originally sounded much better, but I had to cut the scene down a bit and take things out so the crying piece didn't go on for too long. I left it in solely because I had already promised the reference to this particular friend, and thus I didn't want to remove the scene entirely. However, in hindsight, I recognized that it was very poorly executed. Hopefully the scene makes more sense now given Isabel's additional explanation about it provided in this chapter, as I'm sure you all were very confused when you read that. And that's how you fix writing a horrifically bad line, lol.

Anyways, enough of that, because we need to get to **reference time!** :)

\- Tombstone Manor, as previously mentioned in the author's notes for chapter 8, is a reference to the manor of the same name in _The Flintstones episode_ titled "The Gruesomes." Fred Gruesome's name is a parody of both Fred (Flintstone) and (Weirdly) Gruesome.

\- Speaking of which, this exchange between Isabel and Saggy is also a reference: "Gruesome? Like that's a pretty strange name, man." Saggy commented. "You might even call it weirdly." / "I was just about to do that!" Isabel exclaimed. In "The Gruesomes," there is a humorous conversation between Fred and Mr. Gruesome which is almost verbatim to this one. Mr. Gruesome tells Fred that he could call him Weirdly (that being his real first name), and Fred (already thinking his new neighbor acts very oddly) replies "I was just about to do that!" Such a great line.

\- Fred Gruesome's death date, November 12, 1964, is the date that "The Gruesomes" first aired on television.

\- Creepy Crag, the setting of Daphne's dream, is a reference to the first ever Scooby-Doo film, "Scooby Goes Hollywood."

\- The program that Isabel was watching before her and Daphne left, "Shooby and Sherie" was a reference to Scooby's pilot film (Scooby and Cherie) from "Scooby Goes Hollywood." Guess I had that movie on the brain while writing this chapter!

\- Law and Order: Special Jaywalkers Unit isn't necessarily a reference, but it was inspired by an episode of _The Simpsons_ , which also jokingly parodied _Special Victims Unit_ by retitling it as "Elevator Inspectors Unit."

\- The two addresses listed on Fred Gruesome's death certificate are references to _The Munsters_ and _The Flintstones_. 1313 Mockingbird Lane is The Munsters' address, whereas 711 Monster Drive is where Dr. Len Frankenstone's office is located in _The Flintstones_ episode "Monster Fred."

Reviews and favorites/follows are always welcomed and greatly appreciated! Oh, and end pizza poverty! :)


	16. Mirage

**Author's note:**

I'm super excited to be writing this chapter, finally! For quite a long time now, I've been wanting to write a chapter of Coast to Coast at my very own haunted cabin in the woods!

As a bit of backstory, about a year ago, I inherited a cabin from my grandparents, who both unfortunately passed away within the past few years. This cabin is in the middle of the woods, quite literally, and is nearly impossible to find as it is on a very buried trail off the beaten path, which you most likely wouldn't find unless you knew exactly what you were looking for.

This cabin is technically rumored to be haunted. While no ghosts have ever been physically seen, some very odd things have happened. One example of this is when my grandpa was still alive, and he closed a window at night to keep the cold air from coming in. The next morning, the window was wide open, so my grandpa asked my grandma why she had opened it. She insisted she never touched it, and she also said she physically watched my grandpa close the window the previous night. There was no way the window could have been left open, given two people watched it close.

There are a few other "spooky" stories like that, though that was the strangest one. Tonight, Friday, October 5, 2018, I am staying in this haunted cabin and writing a story about Daphne staying in a haunted cabin…sort of a cool meta-reference haha. I'll be staying in the cabin the next five nights sporadically writing this entire chapter. As of tonight, nothing scary has happened yet...other than there appears to be a mouse that somehow got in the cabin with me. Though I am sleeping in the upstairs loft, so let's hope he can't get up there lol.

That brings us to the present. I'm currently sitting in the cold cabin loft (as it snowed today here {in October – so crazy!}, which I could turn the heat on but I feel stubborn and refuse to turn it on in October [that's too early to start paying to heat a building haha]). So I'm sitting here now, cuddled under some warm blankets and wearing some comfy layered and fleece-lined clothing (and a scarf!). And I have a freaking lantern with me, this totally feels like a Scooby-Doo episode lol! While this might sound like torture to some people, I'm quite excited about this little adventure! It will be great to get out in nature (since the cabin is in the woods) and relax a bit for the next few days. I'm also super excited and happy to be finally writing this chapter, and the meta "haunted cabin within a haunted cabin" thing makes it even cooler! Good thing I'm up here alone, I imagine I probably look super excited and unintentionally cute right now lol.

Without further ado, here's Coast to Coast Chapter 16: Special Meta Haunted Cabin Edition!

* * *

Daphne shivered as she saw the suggestion for her latest haunted attraction.

Another haunted cabin.

Last week on her show, she requested that fans write to her and request places she could go for next week's Coast to Coast. Only two days later, she had already had numerous fans write in…many of them just fawning over her and asking her to go ridiculous places like "come to my house!". She obviously wasn't going to do that.

When seeing the "haunted cabin" request, Daphne had many different thoughts on the matter. First and foremost, she was frightened. She still had PTSD-esque flashbacks from the haunted cabin in Terror Hill. A red-eyed, bony-handed spirit nearly killed her and Shaggy in their dreams. She certainly didn't want to go back to a place like that.

But on the other hand, she couldn't completely avoid going to cabins in the woods forever just because she had one bad experience. That would be like never going to any restaurant again because a waiter was rude at one particular restaurant. Put in those terms, Daphne felt a bit silly, but also slightly nervous still. It wasn't easy to just completely forget about her horrifying experience, no matter how much she told herself it would be okay.

Placing her head on her right hand, whilst cupping her chin to support it, Daphne thought in silence for a moment about her decision.

After pondering the thought for several hours, while also answering emails and doing paperwork, she made her decision in a moment of bravery.

She was going to do it, and she was going to do it alone.

She was a strong, independent woman, who had a lioness's sense of bravery and passion.

Of course, these were just words, and words meant little without actions complementing them. You could talk about being brave and doing something all day, but only a true lioness would take the initiative and face her fears.

As a kind gesture, the suggesting fan had attached a brochure to the cabin he was requesting that Daphne visit. Luckily, the cabins had a much prettier name: Ash River Cottages.

She supposed "Twilight Cabin" was sort of a nice name, but after her experience there, she didn't know if she could ever find those two words pretty again.

* * *

With a jolt, Daphne's car engine started. She was ready to go.

The initial anxiety surrounding the event was at first, almost insurmountable for her. She debated turning the car off and saying "fuck it." Strong language, maybe, but strong associations sometimes required strong language. Her associations with cabins was certainly stronger than ever as she embarked on a journey from which she might never return.

After the momentary angst, Daphne partially gained her bravery back, and backed out of the driveway.

It was a cold November's day, with gusts of wind fiercely blowing leaves across the neighbors' lawns. It was certainly not a day one wanted to drive. In fact, there was nothing more Daphne wanted to do than cuddle up under a warm blanket and watch a movie.

She knew, however, that this was a trick of her mind to convince her to abandon ship and go home. She would not fall for such trickery, however, as she knew if she didn't face her fears now, she may never be brave enough to.

* * *

It was nearly a four hour car ride to Ash River Cottages. Daphne almost debated pulling over and taking a nap before resuming the laborious act of driving. She knew, however, that she had to keep pushing on, as she was only a mile or so away from her destination.

The cottage was both beautiful and terrifying for Daphne. Beautiful, because of the bright orange autumn leaves which wisped around the log cabin painted a brownish-green tint. But also terrifying, because the thought setting in that she was actually there: in the place that she feared so much.

As the redhead stepped out of the car, the breeze began swaying her hair to the left with a graceful swish. The cabin loomed before her, more ominous and menacing than ever before. Despite her fear, however, she was smart enough to know that if she didn't go in now, she probably never would. Fear had a way of spiraling out of control if you let it.

Refusing to let herself turn back now, she continued to push on and moved her shivering body until she reached the front door. She was so nervous, she almost dropped the key that she was given whilst trying to put it into the keyhole.

The door swung open, and so did an immense amount of possibilities as Daphne walked into the cabin. The cabin was freezing cold; it felt like the heat hadn't been turned on in ages. The irrational, nervous part of her mind came up with the thought that it probably _hadn't_ been turned on in ages, since no one was brave enough to go in there.

A quick glance to the right showed Daphne a large fireplace, which admittedly relieved her. She certainly hadn't brought enough blankets to keep warm, and she wasn't sure if the cabin had them either.

All of a sudden, the bewildered Blake heard a loud creak, which caused her to jump nearly ten feet. Her mind raced with a thousand possibilities of what it might be: a ghost? A mouse? A person? Just the wind?

Daphne had nearly worked herself up to the point of hyperventilating. She knew she needed to calm down, as it probably was just the wind and nothing more.

Nervously, Daphne creeped over to the mysterious fireplace and looked inside. It was… nothing. That thought probably terrified her most of all: after all, uncertainty was often people's biggest fear.

Daphne intensely stared into the fireplace, hoping her mind would eventually be enough at ease to calm herself down.

She quickly realized that she was being ridiculous. It was incredibly unlikely that anything would suddenly pop out at her just because the fireplace made a bit of a creak. Cautiously, she closed the door. As she was doing so, she could have sworn that she saw a pair of bright yellow eyes in the fireplace. She told herself, however, that it was her imagination and began exploring the building.

The cabin wasn't huge. There was two bedrooms, two pinkish-gray couches (a very odd combination, if she said so herself) and a simple wood dining room table. The appliances were very meager: just a microwave, an oven, and a sink. Then there was upstairs: a small loft with barely anything there. There was a tiny wooden table probably just big enough to set a computer on it, as well as an empty bedframe with no mattress. Luckily, there was also a single bed up in the loft, complete with a mattress, pillow and bedsheets. The downstairs beds looked far more comfortable, but she decided to take the upstairs one just to avoid any possible mice. There was no way the mice could get up there...at least she hoped not. There were also a few paintings in the downstairs next to a window, all of various wildlife. One prominently displayed a picture of a wolf, while another had a portrait of a brown grizzly bear. The curtains were very woodsy: they had pictures of pine trees and mountains, with deer drinking from a lake. It certainly wasn't the most homey place Daphne could ever imagine, but it would do at least for the night.

The one thing that bugged her, however, is the lack of a particular room: the bathroom. She didn't see any room that could be even remotely interpreted as the bathroom, though she now had a sneaking suspicion that the small building she had seen outside earlier was an outhouse. Daphne now hated this place even more.

For once, Daphne had no desire to look around with her camera. She knew this was just the fear talking, but for once she hoped she wouldn't actually find anything. Going home without footage of a real ghost never sounded so great to her. In fact, it actually made her miss the days of when her and the gang would catch fake ghosts, or in other words, criminals in disguise trying to hide some real estate scam or other illegal activity. The prospect of a criminal buying a Halloween costume and scaring people away sounded odd, but it had certainly gained popularity throughout the past several years. The costumes were usually pretty realistic too, so much so that it was difficult to tell that it wasn't a real ghost. Nothing like the Halloween costumes you'd see in a store. She wondered if the criminals who chose to dress up and scare people away had some special store or shop they went to in order to make the costumes look so realistic.

The momentary daydream helped Daphne's fear level a bit, but she knew going straight to bed would help it more. There was no use keeping her overactive mind on any longer, especially if she wasn't going to take the time to look around.

Shivering a little bit, Daphne undressed for the night and dug through her suitcase for some warm clothes to wear. After a bit of rummaging, Daphne found a pink fleece-lined hooded sweatshirt along with some gray fleece-lined pants. It wasn't much, but she had only brought one blanket and needed some way to keep warm. There didn't appear to be any way to turn on the heat (as far as she knew, there might not even be any heat in the cabin!)

Daphne decided to leave the rest of her clothes on, rather than putting on the thin pajamas she had brought. Those certainly would do about as good keeping her warm as using a single paper towel as a blanket.

She quickly brushed her teeth for the night and went to bed. She closed her eyes, hoping it wouldn't be her last time ever doing so.

* * *

It started with a bang.

Daphne awoke to the obnoxious noise, which caused her to practically jump out of bed in anguish.

Curious as to what the noise was, yet still a bit frightened, the redhead peeked down onto the main floor of the cabin from over the loft railing. She didn't see anything of note: just a few reddish-orange leaves which she had probably tracked in from outside.

She was still a bit nervous, despite the lack of any clear paranormal indicators, but she figured she might as well go to the bathroom while she was up.

Daphne went downstairs and opened the door, and to her surprise, going outside didn't really feel that much colder than it was in the cabin. In fact, the fresh air felt quite nice, better than how stuffy it felt in that damn building.

As she hobbled out to the outhouse behind the cabin, Daphne began to hear a strange howling noise. To comfort her anxious mind, she just presumed it was the wind. Wind certainly couldn't hurt anybody.

But she kept hearing it. Over and over and over.

Daphne began to perseverate over this mysterious dilemma, as she tiptoed ever closer to the outhouse.

She saw the shadow of the building coming more into focus…but wait…that wasn't a building. It almost looked like a person.

Daphne knew she was overthinking it, so she continued to go closer to the so-called "mysterious figure." She quickly realized this was a mistake, however.

As she got closer, she could make out the shape of a skull. Daphne jumped back in terror, just in time for her to see the skull was attached to a body. The skull began smiling an insidious, evil grin in Daphne's direction.

Before she could even contemplate running, Daphne noticed something peculiar: the skull had turned into just a skull again, not moving at all. The skull appeared to be attached to some sort of scarecrow body; upon touching it, Daphne discovered it was just made of straw and some old clothes. It was like what she just saw hadn't even happened.

This sent Daphne's mind swirling in a thousand directions. Maybe it hadn't happened at all, and it was just her overactive imagination getting the best of her again. But maybe it had happened, and the strange skull-headed figure was just going dormant to lure her into a false sense of security. And worst of all, maybe it had happened, and she was about to be killed for making the mistake of not running when she had the chance.

Daphne refused to let this strange occurrence affect her, however, given the matter of if it had even occurred was trivial at the moment. She continued to walk to the bathroom and went as quickly as possible, before doing fast-walking back into the safety of the cabin.

* * *

Daphne's sleep was as fitful as ever. She began to dream about seeing skeletons in front of her, she had one where skeletons were surrounding the building, and even one bizarre dream which featured a strange Skeleton King as the mayor of some sort of Halloween-themed town.

Another crash woke the pretty redhead up from her slumber, prompting her to pick up and turn on the nearby flashlight next to her bedside.

As soon as she turned on the flashlight, she heard another sound: the sound of footsteps pitter-pattering across the bottom floor.

She shook her head, as to metaphorically shake off the feeling that there was someone in the cabin with her.

Despite a bad gut feeling that she would meet her demise, the redhead decided to go down the stairs and check out the bizarre noise.

With each thump of her foot going down the stairs, the restless redhead wondered if it would be the last noise she ever made.

A quick scan of the main rooms showed nothing. She still, however, had the two bedrooms which were concealed by curtains, each of which had the same wildlife patterns as the windows.

She opened up the first curtain, closing her eyes with a sinking feeling. Cautiously, Daphne opened one eye to inspect the view in front of her. Nothing.

She went to the other curtain, her feet resisting the movements her brain was telling them to make. Feeling slightly more confident, she did not close her eyes this time upon opening the last curtain.

Daphne froze at the sight she saw.

It was a ghastly medium-sized man in a full bluish-gray Civil War outfit, his eyes glowing a fierce shade of yellow.

The man did not say a word, but Daphne heard the howling once again from the open window outside. If she weren't in a paralyzed state of mind, she might have found it odd that the window was left wide open: she had never been in that room prior to now.

Daphne's eyes began shutting in pure horror. She wasn't sure the ghostly figure's intentions for her, but she quite frankly had no interest in knowing.

Her mind was far too curious, even when she was petrified. Daphne opened her eyes slightly, and saw that the man had gone. There was no trace that he had even been there.

Instead of terrified, Daphne was now a healthy mixture of confused and afraid. She had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, she wanted no part of it.

A check of her watch showed it was 3 a.m. Half the night was over. But the pessimistic part of Daphne told her that this meant half the night was still left. What was only a few hours felt like an eternity to Daphne.

If anyone were to hear of the redhead's strange delusions (which may be all too real), they probably would have asked why Daphne didn't pack up her things and leave long ago.

A good mixture of stubbornness and fear kept her from leaving. She was far too tired and out of it to go anywhere, especially if she was imagining things. She was also quite stubborn, as she had told herself she was finally going to face her fears and stay in a potentially haunted cabin for one night. It was quite literally her job to document paranormal activity and inform her audience about it, and this was as good of place as any. Sure, it was a dangerous presumption to decide it was safe enough to stay in the cabin for the rest of the night, but as far as she was concerned, that was part of the job. Hell, it had been part of her job since she first joined Mystery Inc. back in high school. Her and the gang never really knew if the monsters were real or not, all they knew is that they were _usually_ fake.

There were some trivial instances, such as when she and the gang helped an Arabian Sultan reclaim his kingdom from a vicious djinn. They hadn't unmasked the djinn, and he was somehow able to fit into a bottle, but the advances in the field of science these days allowed for some crazy things to be possible.

Once again, daydreaming helped set Daphne's angsty mind at ease. With those thoughts in mind, Daphne drifted off once again into the land of nod.

* * *

Daylight.

Daphne checked her watch, which showed 4:00 a.m.

Wait a minute though. That didn't make sense. Even on the longest day of the year during the summer, it didn't get light until nearly 6:00 a.m. It was November now, which certainly assured her that it wouldn't be light for another several hours.

Daphne quickly realized that the "daylight" was coming from downstairs. There was a strange light coming from the flashlight, which was precariously propped up on the table, the top facing towards the ceiling.

Daphne's heart sunk upon seeing this. It was very odd that there would suddenly be a light on, especially given the false allusion that it was daylight had woken her. She also didn't remember leaving the flashlight in that particular place. She supposed it was _possible_ , especially given how frightened she was, but the prospect of it seemed quite odd to her.

She shrugged and turned the flashlight off, placing it next to a large saw downstairs before she went back to sleep.

* * *

Daphne woke up again. 6:00 a.m. Still not light yet.

She had to pee once again, which got her a bit frustrated. Frustrated with herself more than anything, for having three full-sized bottled drinks on her way up to the cabin. She tended to drink more when she was nervous, however, and she was nervous as hell coming up to the Cabin of Demise.

She rapidly shook that last thought from her mind. Calling it the Cabin of Demise, even mentally, was just her brain's way of further scaring her. If all of what had happened so far tonight was a delusion, her brain was certainly doing a phenomenal job.

She quickly embraced the darkness once again to relieve her bladder. She hoped she wouldn't see anything this time. She certainly didn't need anything else to frighten her tonight.

She tried to smile and do what Fred always said, "fake it 'til you make it!" But it was difficult to do in such times of uncertainty, and her attempt to smile felt exactly that: fake.

Daphne opened up the outhouse door, and braced herself for the worst.

But what she saw was the best: nothing.

The redhead tried to tinkle as fast as possible, though she wasn't sure it really mattered at this point. Both outside and inside were equally unsafe now, as far as she was concerned.

Despite this, it made Daphne feel better to fast-walk and "escape" from her insecurities. She almost felt like she was going crazy, running away from something she wasn't even sure existed. She quickly comforted herself by reminding herself that she wasn't crazy; she was just terrified. This certainly wasn't a place anyone would want to stay for very long, regardless of if there were ghosts. The cold and the desolateness of the place were enough to keep anyone away.

As she was about to open to door to whatever awaited her, she saw a strange man in Arabian garb, his face completely covered with a red headdress and white robes. The man was standing right in front of the door.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, almost too confused to be scared. Just as she was about to run in the other direction, the man whispered to her in a raspy Middle Eastern accent.

"Shhh. You shall not remember a thing."

Daphne closed her eyes as the strange robed man reached for her neck, but quickly opened them, just hoping he would disappear like the other Civil War ghost had.

Her wish was granted with (quite literally) the blink of an eye. The robed man had disappeared completely, though she wasn't sure where. Or for that matter, if he had even existed. Maybe this was all some wonderful trick her mind had decided to play on her.

Daphne ran up the stairs again and jumped into bed. Before she could close her eyes, she noticed them get puffy and wet. While she was initially terrified that the Arabian ghost or one of the other spirits had given her a poison of some sort, she realized what was actually occurring. She was crying.

She felt helpless, afraid, and almost a bit crazy. No one could ever relate to her experience. She was truly going through this alone.

This somber thought made her tear up even more. The eye leakage was coming out faster than she could wipe her eyes, so she just stopped trying and embraced the crying. She had certainly been through a lot in these past few months, and she quite frankly could use a good cry.

After about a half an hour, the redhead had finally regained control of her emotions. The temporarily unstoppable tears had made her feel a bit better. She felt a bit more brave now, and like she was given a second chance to start anew. She wouldn't be afraid this time. It was 6:30 a.m. now, and she was going to fucking stay the rest of the night if it killed her.

* * *

The brave Blake awoke at 9:00 a.m., well past the time the sun had risen.

Instead of rushing to wake up, Daphne decided to keep her eyes shut and preserve her energy until she was completely ready to take on the day. She tossed and turned a bit, trying to get a good stretch in. Trying to make herself feel further comforted, she nuzzled her nose and head on the soft pillow.

After a bit of stretching, she finally decided she was ready to wake up and open her eyes.

What followed was a loud scream.

Right in front of Daphne's bed, there was a gigantic saw pointed right at her face. The very same saw which she had placed the flashlight near downstairs. Not upstairs. Downstairs. This time, she knew she wasn't delusion. There was no logical reason she would have brought a saw upstairs.

In a flash, Daphne grabbed her suitcase and whipped the clothes laying on the ground inside, and quickly shuffled down the stairs. Not even bothering to lock the place up (any robber that might break in would get the scare of a lifetime before they got the chance to steal anything), Daphne jumped in the car and slammed her foot on the gas.

Once she had left the gravel trail into the cabin, she finally felt safe.

Ironically, a few seconds after this thought, Daphne hit something on the road. Worried it was an animal of some sort, Daphne pulled over to the side of the road and parked. She was at least a mile away from the cabin, and it was unlikely anybody (or anything) would have followed her.

Upon glancing under her tire, the redhead found one last scare waiting for her.

What she had run over was none other than a Civil War hat, appearing to be the very same one that she had seen the Civil War ghost wearing last night.

Logistically, she supposed it was _possible_ that some random guy on the way to a Civil War reenactment festival had their window open, and a freak gust of wind blew it out of the car and onto the road. But between the saw and this, this was far too many coincidences for her liking. Now, she was pretty sure that everything she had seen last night was real.

Daphne didn't even bother to pick the hat up from under her tire. Rather, she ran the hat over when she speeded away, feeling both terrified and a bit confused.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

That's all, folks!

And so my dream of writing a chapter of Coast to Coast about a haunted cabin in a real-life haunted cabin has finally come true.

It's actually only the night of Sunday, October 7, as I write this, meaning I have two more days up here to potentially begin chapter 17. Or maybe go enjoy some beautiful nature :)

I know you're all probably wondering how if my "haunted" cabin actually is haunted, but first we have to do reference time!

Ash River is sort of a sentimental reference for myself. This particular cabin is near a body of water called the Ash River, thus I decided to name the cottages after it.

The bit about the Sultan and the djinn is talking about _The New Scooby-Doo Movies_ episode, "Mystery in Persia" featuring Jeannie and Babu.

I occasionally will add in-jokes and references for friends that I know are reading this. I don't usually mention them, but since I mentioned Ash River I may as well talk about this one too. The bit about Daphne talking about needing to be a strong "lioness" is a reference to a friend, who always used to refer to herself as a "brave lioness." I always thought her self-imposed nickname was really cute, so I decided to have Daphne refer to herself as this as well. Thought it fit quite nicely here.

The description of the cabin Daphne stayed in is basically a description of my cabin. Just describing what I was seeing :)

The Skeleton Mayor of the Halloween town is a reference to Jack Skellington, from what is quite possibly the greatest Halloween movie ever, _The Nightmare Before Christma_ s! If you haven't already, you all need to go watch that amazing movie after you're done reading this!

The Civil War ghost is a reference to Shaggy's Uncle Beauregard from the Boo Brothers film. Admittedly, Boo Brothers was sort of the inspiration for this chapter. I've always loved that the film leaves the mystery open to interpretation, and even at the end of the movie, it's not necessarily clear whether some of the ghosts were real or not. Those of you who know me from elsewhere will probably remember I just wrote a post about Boo Brothers on my blog the other day, which is essentially how I got the idea for this chapter.

Additionally, I hope you all liked my little backstory about the monsters the gang caught. Thought it might be a good explanation that was compatible with the more realistic tone of Zombie Island.

Now, let's get on to the haunted cabin report! I'm sad…or happy…or indifferent to report that I did not see anything supernatural (this part of the author's note was written on Tuesday, October 9, my last night here). I did hear wolves making some sort of otherworldly howl one night, which was a bit frightening admittedly, but nothing else. I also saw quite possibly the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life. If you search "wolf spider" on Google Images, you'll probably see what I'm talking about. The reason I say 'probably' being have no desire to look it up and see if my suspicions are confirmed. I've already seen enough of that particular type of spider to last a lifetime haha.

Never did end up seeing the mouse again either, thank goodness.

Thank you all ever so much for reading this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. This was fun staying in a "haunted cabin" for a few nights, and it definitely fulfilled my geeky dream of sleeping in a place that could have come out of a Scooby episode haha.

And speaking of places in Scooby episodes, those of you that follow my blog will also know that this little trip gave me a chance to visit the real-life Banning Junction, from "A Scooby-Doo Halloween." It was certainly fun to visit, but nothing like it was in the Scooby-Doo episode. There were a bunch of Halloween decorations throughout the town, on lampposts and telephone poles or whatever, but it certainly was nothing like it was in the Scooby episode. Quite a tiny little town as well, there were just a few shops and restaurants and such, but the town probably wasn't any more than a mile or two long. Still glad I got to visit it though! :)

Finally, you guys know the drill by now! If you like this fanfic and you haven't done so already, reviews, follows and faves are always awesome to see!


	17. Moonlight

**Author's note:**

So I'm still at the haunted cabin from last chapter tonight, it's about 8 p.m. on Monday, October 8. Had a bit of extra time tonight, and thus I thought I'd begin chapter 17 before I get back to the busyness of "real life" on Wednesday.

Nothing much else to say other than I hope you all are continuing to enjoy the story!

* * *

The gang was off solving another mystery, but oddly, they were back at Zombie Island. Daphne didn't quite remember why, but nonetheless she was happy to be going on an adventure with the gang.

Lost in thought, Daphne almost hadn't noticed the strange noises coming from behind her. A quick glance showed her it was a ghostly man dressed in a pirate outfit.

"Zoinks! It's the Ghost of Brownbeard!" Shaggy gulped.

"I'll get ya yet, ya swashbucklin' kids!" Brownbeard shouted.

"Like, run Scoob!" Shaggy yelled, as Scooby began scrambling to get away from the admittedly not so terrifying ghost.

"Where da ya think you're goin', matey?" Brownbeard asked rhetorically, as he grabbed Shaggy and by the collar of his green shirt and wrapped his arms around the lanky adult. Shaggy was completely immobile in Brownbeard's tight grasp.

"Zoinks, like, help me Daphne!"

"You ain't helpin' no one, lassie!" Brownbeard growled, as he pulled out a gun from the back of his trousers and shot it directly at Daphne. It was a perfect shot, which hit the redhead right in the arm, rendering her useless.

As Brownbeard grabbed Shaggy and ran off into the distance, Daphne began to cry. She may never see Shaggy again. She would miss him. She wanted him. She needed him. She…loved him.

* * *

The unconscious realization woke Daphne out of a dead slumber.

She finally understood how she felt about Shaggy.

She was in love with him.

She couldn't do anything about this realization tonight. However, she committed herself to going over to Shaggy's house tomorrow and telling her friend how she felt. If she had any chance of even becoming close with the gang again, she needed to be honest with them.

* * *

Daphne arrived at Shaggy's house almost immediately after she ate her normal cereal breakfast that morning. She had considered doing other things first, but she couldn't get her mind off of Shaggy. Whilst Daphne had certainly had crushes in her life before, she had never felt like this. This must be what it felt like to be deeply in love with someone.

Shaggy's home was very small and cozy-looking , just right for him and Scooby. Daphne admittedly still found the dark shade of beige that the house was painted quite ugly, though she supposed everyone had their own distinct tastes. The path leading up to Shaggy's house, however, was covered with beautiful reddish-yellow autumn leaves.

Daphne rang the doorbell to her darkish-blonde friend's house, and immediately saw him coming to the door.

"Hey, Daph!" Shaggy said cheerfully as he opened the door. "Come on in! Scoob and I were just fixing breakfast."

"Sure! We need to talk, though." Daphne said, which unintentionally came out in an ominous fashion. It wasn't everyday you discovered you were in love with your close friend, so she didn't want to reveal too much too fast. She was going to do this as delicately as possible.

"What do you want to talk about?" Shaggy inquired with a rapid tone, visibly a bit nervous. "Politics? Religion? Abortion?"

Daphne laughed, though it came out a bit more nervous than she intended.

"No. Something a bit lighter than that."

It relieved the redhead a bit to know that Shaggy's mind was turning to worse topics than what she would actually say. It would be tough to reveal her true feelings for him, but certainly not as tough as trying to talk about something like abortion.

"I want to talk about us. The kiss." Daphne revealed.

"Oh yeah…that thing." Shaggy said, noticeably more subdued now.

"I really liked it." Daphne replied meekly.

"Uhh…so did I." Shaggy's face turned into the shape of a smile.

Realizing the conversation wasn't going to go anywhere if she remained neutral, it took every ounce of her emotional strength to say "I love you, Shaggy."

"Oh. Okay." Shaggy responded, as he began shaking a bit with nervousness.

"It's okay, Shaggy. I won't be offended if you say no, but…do you like me back?"

"Like…" the green-shirted man paused for a moment. "Yeah!"

Daphne began laughing, both because she was happy and to release the excess nervous energy she had built up.

"You want to go see a movie tonight?"

"Like, sure Daph! But not until I…get off." He accidentally paused. "No, no, not like that!"

"It's okay, Shaggy! What time do you get off of work?"

"Well, I think I mentioned I'm working for a sandwich shop now. We close at 7, so, like, how about then?"

"Okay. See you then!" Daphne chirped.

Daphne was about to say goodbye, until she saw Shaggy tapping his foot anxiously.

"Uh…do we like…hug…or something…now?" he stammered.

Daphne smiled at his adorable nervousness.

"I'll do better than that…if it's okay." Daphne replied in a precautious manner.

Shaggy nodded.

With that, Daphne gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Like wow!" Shaggy said, his eyes lighting up like saucers.

She wasn't sure if she was moving too fast, but his happiness certainly made her feel good. She decided to return his excitement with one more affectionate gesture. The redhead moved her nose close to the green-shirted man's face and began lovingly nuzzling it.

"Love you, cutie." Daphne added, immediately wondering if she was saying too much.

"Like, I…uh…love you too." Shaggy sputtered.

Daphne just grinned happily as she went out the door, almost in a happy skipping manner. Anyone who saw her would probably think she was quite adorable at the moment, but she didn't really care.

* * *

It was nearly 7 o'clock, and Daphne still needed to get ready for her date.

If anyone had told her she would be dating Shaggy even a few months ago, she would have said they were crazy. But sure enough, what was bizarre and unthinkable a few months ago was now a blissful reality.

Daphne picked out a red dress with frills on the bottom to wear to the date, and laid it out on her bed. The very awkward thought of what kind of bra she should wear also entered her mind. She doubted Shaggy would really care, and there was virtually no chance Shaggy would be seeing it. He didn't seem to be the type of guy to be into that, but then again, all her interactions with Shaggy prior to the one this morning was from a friend standpoint. She had never seen how Shaggy acted around people he was romantically interested in, so maybe he would care or be offended if she didn't put enough effort into her appearance.

To shut her ever-perseverating mind down, the redhead went for the mysterious-but-approachable option of wearing a black bra under a red dress. A quick look in the mirror confirmed her thought that the outfit would look like she put some effort in to look pretty for the date, but not too much as to allude that they were going to spend the night together. Daphne was most certainly not that kind of girl.

Of course, then there were the shoes. She debated whether to dress up or dress down. Dressing up would give the impression of being stylish and fashion-coordinated, but dressing down would show her to be the approachable 'girl next door' type. Ultimately, she decided to dress down and wear tennis shoes along with the red dress. It gave her exactly the right amount of cute without looking slutty.

* * *

Daphne arrived at the movie theater just before 7. Shaggy appeared to have already arrived, no doubt to scout out the food situation. Her suspicions were quickly confirmed when she saw her (still) green-shirted friend over ordering some popcorn. Daphne was now even more glad she had chosen the 'girl next door' look, given Shaggy had opted out of dressing up for the date.

"Hey, Shaggy!" Daphne waved, looking as bubbly as ever.

"Hey Da…woah! You look great, Daphne!"

"Oh, this old thing? I've had it in my closet for a while now. Haven't you ever seen it?"

Daphne was immediately disgusted with herself for playing hard to get. Surely this was the result of being a little bit nervous. She wondered if she should have worn a dress at all, as clearly Shaggy's expectations were quite different than she had thought.

"Like, I don't think so." Shaggy replied humbly.

"What movie do you want to see? The Return of Boogedy Bones? 13 Ghosts? I hear Vincent Van Ghoul is great in it!"" Daphne commented.

"Umm…I think I'll pass on those. I'm not a big fan of scary movies. Like, you and the gang already scared me enough in our years together!" Shaggy laughed.

"What would you like to see then?" Daphne asked, trying to remain open.

"Like, I've been wanting to see that new _Pizza Parrot_ movie now forever! It's called Pizza Parrot Meets the Butter Bean Bunnies!"

Daphne fought back the urge to giggle. It was most certainly a movie intended for children, but she found it adorably dorky that he wanted to see it with her.

"Sure!" Daphne smiled, as she ushered her date over into the ticket line.

* * *

As expected, the film was quite dumb and cringy, but she still enjoyed seeing it with Shaggy.

Throughout the film so far, Daphne felt a weird sensation inside of her to be silly and affectionately playful towards her potential boyfriend. She began making kissy faces at him from her seat, to which he usually giggled.

It made it a bit awkward, as the theater was predominantly filled with little kids. She supposed that there was no shame in having a boyfriend who liked something with a target audience for children. Just one of his many cute quirks, she assumed.

Daphne's kissy faces and affectionate nudges continued throughout the night, until Shaggy finally reacted towards the end of the movie.

Shaggy reciprocated Daphne's advances by kissing her on the cheek, just as she had done earlier that morning.

In a snap judgement, Daphne decided to take it further and move her lips closer to his. Before either of them knew it, their lips locked and began to share a passionate kiss.

The kissing continued for several minutes, with one or both of them occasionally coming up for air every now and then. With a short second, the redhead suddenly felt a cold hand touching the fabric of her dress. It was the hand of her potential boyfriend, fondling her back as he continued to kiss her.

Daphne had to mentally pause and ask herself if what they were doing constituted making out.

Either way, it was certainly a new one for her. She had never made out at a kids' movie with someone, which is probably why the sound of several little kids giggling and smiling was odd to her. Nonetheless, she embraced it and continued touching her date's soft, delicate lips.

* * *

The night was pretty amazing. The two had continued kissing/making out/undefined gray area of smooching and innocent touching for the remainder of the film. When they were finished, Shaggy was quite a gentleman and invited her back to his house for a midnight snack.

While this might be portrayed as some sort of suggestively crude innuendo by some, Daphne knew that Shaggy actually literally meant a midnight snack. In fact, he didn't really do anything besides gaze at her lovingly. He didn't even do so much as stare at her lustfully, which made her quite happy. That meant he actually liked her for who she was, rather than her female body parts.

Daphne felt like she was in a perpetual state of happiness, higher than a kite on a windy day. Nothing could bring her down. The happy feeling continued as she researched her next haunted attraction to visit, and decided to take Shaggy along. It only felt natural given they were dating.

It seemed there was a house near a lake which had a wolf-like creature rumored to be running around every night. Of course, this was the person's vague way of saying that they were being plagued by a werewolf.

Daphne drove over to Shaggy's house once again and admired the autumn view along the way. Going to Shaggy's house made her feel comforted and safe, which the red-haired girl supposed was a necessary part of any healthy relationship.

The redhead rang her boyfriend's doorbell and twirled a strand of her hair in a girly fashion whilst waiting for him to answer.

"Oh hey, Daph!" Shaggy said. "How was work?"

"It was good! That's what I wanted to tell you about…I got an invitation to go up to a haunted house for my show. Want to come?"

"And have us be nearly killed by a bony-armed skeletal dude again? No thanks!" Shaggy gulped.

"You do remember what that adventure led us to last time, right?" Daphne asked with a flirty tone.

"Uh…a near death experience?" Shaggy inquired innocently.

"Cuddles!" Daphne smiled, wondering what his reaction would be.

"Oh yeah…cuddling is awesome!"

"How was your day, sweetie?" Daphne reciprocated.

"Good. But I got really hard today." Shaggy said, before getting a stricken look on his face. "No! _It_ got really hard. _It_!

"It's okay, Shaggy! I know what you meant." Daphne reassured. "So, are you joining me?"

Daphne's 'look-how-cute-I-am" smile must have overpowered whatever cowardice the skinny man had in him.

"Like, sure. I'd go anywhere with you!"

"Great! As would I." Daphne elbowed Shaggy lovingly.

"When do we leave?" Shaggy asked, rubbing his arm a bit to take away the sharp pain Daphne had accidentally inflicted.

"As fast as you can pack!" his girlfriend smiled.

* * *

The road going around the lake seemed almost endless. They had been driving for nearly ten minutes now, and they still had not arrived at the man's house.

Daphne was humming a happy tune in her bird-like voice, smiling and swaying a bit to visibly show her cheerful mood.

Shaggy, on the other hand, looked absolutely exhausted. It was a two hour drive to the man's lake home, and Shaggy had a difficult day at work.

All of a sudden, the duo heard a loud howling sound coming from the woods.

"Zoinks! That must be the werewolf!" Shaggy commented.

Daphne shrugged. "I guess. It could be some random guy in a costume too, though. You never know with this job."

Shaggy returned the shrug with an affirmative nod, before saying "Let's hope it's a fake. I don't want to have nightmares for the next year about werewolves. I'm still trying to get over the nightmares from the last trip we took!"

"Aww, has my baby been scared?" Daphne said to her immediate regret. It sounded a bit too motherly rather than an affectionate girlfriend.

Shaggy gave the redhead a bit of a strange look, and just replied "like, when aren't I scared?"

"When you're eating." Daphne returned.

"Touché." Shaggy laughed.

* * *

At long last, they had arrived at their destination. A man wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt greeted them.

"Are you Daphne Rogers and Shaggy Blake?" the man asked.

Daphne Rogers. Shockingly, she could see it.

"No. I'm Daphne Blake and this is Shaggy Rogers." Daphne corrected.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The man apologized. "I'm Silas Jonas and I'm the one that called about the…"

Daphne interrupted the man, already knowing what he had to say. "Wolf? Yep, that's why we're here."

"Good, good." Silas replied. "I'll let you two look around then."

"You're welcome to come with us, if you like." Daphne invited.

Silas seemed a bit rattled by this comment, although Daphne supposed that one wouldn't exactly be eager to go out and find a murderous werewolf in the woods.

"Uh, no, you two can go on without me." Silas finally responded.

"Sounds good." Daphne answered.

"So…uh…like…where do we start?" Shaggy asked.

"We can just start walking around the perimeter of the woods while I film the intro. Is that okay, honey?"

Her mouth felt a bit numb as she articulated her last word. Even though she loved Shaggy, it still felt weird to act all affectionate with him.

"Sure...uh…sweetheart." Shaggy replied, clearly nervous as well.

Daphne pulled the bulky camera out of the trunk, and shut it with a slam. She opened the camera lens and began recording.

"Hi everyone! This is Daphne Blake, bringing you the spookiest paranormal sightings from 'Coast to Coast.'" Daphne liked inserting a bit of wordplay into her show, if she could. She always had a thing for puns. "Today we are at Viking Lake, where a wolf-like creature has been seen prowling around the grounds. During this episode, my friend Shaggy and I will be investigating if this creature is just a harmless wolf…or a vicious, menacing werewolf."

Daphne turned her camera off momentarily, so they could get a bit further along before she recorded anything else. There was no reason to waste precious battery power on nothing.

"Like, zoinks!" Daphne heard Shaggy say from a distance. The redhead came running to her friend's aid, the wet leaves on the ground becoming stuck to her shoes as she did so.

"What's the problem, Shaggy?" Daphne realized that this was the first time she called him Shaggy since they first started dating. It felt oddly more natural than calling him "honey" and "sweetie" every other sentence.

"Like, those bushes are rustling!" Shaggy pointed.

Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Shaggy, it's just the wind. I told you, if you're going to come along, you can't be so jumpy about everything!"

Daphne immediately felt horrible when she saw the stricken look which Shaggy had on his face.

"I'm sorry, Shaggy. I shouldn't have reacted so strongly." Daphne blushed as she spoke.

"Like, it's okay, Daph." Shaggy forgave her.

The wind continued to rustle the bushes ferociously. Daphne quickly realized, however, that the bushes were rustling harder and harder, despite the wind feeling and sounding very minimal on their backs.

"Um, Shaggy? I think you were right."

"Like, I knew I was right!" Shaggy smiled, before pausing for a moment. "Wait, what am I right about?"

"That!" Daphne said in horror, pointing at a large snout sticking out of the bushes.

The wolf was indeed no regular animal. It was huge and beastly, and stood on its hind legs like a human would. Clearly, this was a werewolf.

"Zoinks! It's the werewolf!" Shaggy shouted. He began to run as fast as he could, until he realized Daphne was moving at a much slower face. She had her camera out, and was attempting to film the werewolf whilst running backwards.

"Come on, Daph!" Shaggy instructed.

Finally, Daphne stopped filming and began running at the same pace as Shaggy. Within a few seconds, she sped up to catch up to her new boyfriend.

* * *

Once they had gotten a safe distance away back to the house, Daphne slowed her pace to a fast walk, mirroring what Shaggy was doing.

"I think we're, like, safe now." Shaggy panted.

"Let's catch our breath for a moment before we head back." Daphne replied, still breathing heavily.

"Wait a minute…head _back_? Back to where?" Shaggy questioned.

"I'm sorry Shaggy, we have to go back to where we first saw the werewolf." Daphne declared.

"But wasn't the whole point to get _away_ from the werewolf?" Shaggy argued.

"Well, yes, but we need to go back to look for clues. Maybe the werewolf left something behind that will help determine if it's real or fake." Daphne said.

With an exaggerated sigh, Shaggy followed in Daphne's footsteps as she headed back to the danger zone where they first saw the otherworldly wolf.

* * *

"Let's keep an eye out for clues." Daphne instructed. Her and Shaggy had made it safely back to the spot where they had encountered the werewolf.

"What clues? There's a creepy werewolf out here that wants to kill us!" Shaggy responded in a frustrated manner.

"Well, like this for example." Daphne picked up a piece of black fur, which felt very scruffy and worn.

"Like, so what? The werewolf left some of his fur. Maybe it was shedding season?" Shaggy hypothesized.

"How about you stop snapping at me?" Daphne snarked back. "This isn't real fur. It's too rough and fakey feeling. Feel this." She held out the piece of fur for her partner to feel.

"Hey, what do you know?" Shaggy said, as he felt the fur. "So, either the werewolf is having a bad hair day, or this isn't a real monster!"

"Exactly." Daphne confirmed.

Suddenly, the two young adults heard a loud roar come from a distance.

"Zoinks! It's that werewolf again!" Shaggy yelled.

"Quiet, Shaggy!" Daphne scolded. "There's no reason to be scared. We know the werewolf is a fake."

"Even if he is a fake, he still may be dangerous! Maybe he's packing heat!"

Daphne rolled her eyes again. "Yes Shaggy, the werewolf has a machine gun hidden in his tail."

"Well, you never know." Shaggy cautioned.

Another loud growl could be heard echoing across the lake. But this time, the noises seemed closer.

"The werewolf sounds like he's getting closer. Let's get out of here, Daph. Fake or no fake, this werewolf means business!"

"No, Shaggy, we've got to stay and investigate."

"You wanna tell him that?" Shaggy replied, pointing at the large-snouted creature, baring its fangs and claws at them. The wolf almost blended into the night, as it had jet black fur and brownish eyes. The wolf lunged at them, nearly ripping the back of Shaggy's shirt with his oversized claws.

Before Daphne's brain could even tell her feet to run, Shaggy was already gone like a puff of smoke. Daphne forced her feet to move as fast as they would take her, trying to get away from the werewolf who was still actively clawing at her.

Evenutally, she caught up with Shaggy, who said softly, "Quick, make a sharp left turn into these pine trees. The werewolf is, like, far enough behind that he shouldn't see us."

Daphne did as her boyfriend requested, and sure enough, the werewolf ran past them about a minute later without noticing where the two had gone. The werewolf was running so fast, in fact, that he dropped a piece of paper of some sort.

"Like, the werewolf dropped something!" Shaggy pointed.

Daphne tiptoed over to pick it up, as the werewolf was sure to realize at some point that they had tricked him.

"What is it?" Shaggy whispered.

"It's…me." Daphne said, puzzled for a moment.

"Like, huh?" Shaggy asked, now confused along with the redhead.

"It's one of my flyers. It says 'Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake' and has a picture of me."

Glancing down on the paper a bit, Daphne had an epiphany of what the form actually was.

"Wait a second here. This is one of the flyers I handed out at our TV station's open house last week. It was the form where people could request haunted places they wanted to appear in the show!"

"Like, what does that mean? The werewolf is a fan of your show?" Shaggy responded.

"Well, you could say that. Let's just say I have a pretty good idea who the werewolf is now." Daphne hypothesized.

"I know that look." Shaggy sighed. "It's the same look that you, Fred and Velma always got whenever they had a plan."

"Exactly. We need to get back to Silas's house and tell him we know what's been going on around here." Daphne smiled.

* * *

Shaggy followed Daphne back to Silas's house, where he luckily happened to be sitting outside reading.

Shaggy was the first to speak.

"Hey, Mr. Jonas! Whatcha you reading there?"

"Uh…nothing! Nothing!" Silas said, oddly hiding his book under a nearby table. He was so nervous however, that he didn't do a particularly good job. "Werewo," a piece of the title, could still be read on the cover.

"Reading up on werewolves?" Daphne asked.

"Oh…yes…yes. I just wanted to…uh…help you guys out more. I felt bad sending you off into the woods alone with…with that creature." Silas answered with a shaky voice.

"Well, I'm happy to inform you then that we know that the werewolf is not real." Daphne declared.

"Not real?" Silas said, acting as if he were confused. "What ever do you mean?

"Exactly what I just said. The werewolf isn't real. It's a human dressed up in a werewolf costume." Daphne smirked.

"Oh my! Who in the world would ever do that?" Silas said disapprovingly.

"You." Daphne said plainly.

"Me? But…but…"

"You can cut the charade now, Mr. Jonas!" Shaggy announced. "We know you dressed up as the werewolf."

"Why that's absurd, young man!" Silas's voice began raising with anger. "Why would I invite you here just to scare you away?"

"You wanted to be on my show so bad, that you would literally do anything. Even dress up as a werewolf to fool me into thinking there was a real supernatural threat here."

Ironically, this man was exactly like the other people who put in requests such as "come to my house and film your show." She was actually fooled into going to someone's house, just because they craved being television-famous so badly.

"Fine, fine! You got me. How did you figure it out?" Silas sighed.

"Well, for one, you're pretty terrible at covering your tracks." Daphne informed. "We found one of my flyers you had in the woods. Not to mention there was a chunk of fake fur stuck in the bush you were hiding in."

"Damn it!" Silas screamed. "I suppose you'll be taking me to jail now, then. Just like you and the Mystery Inc. gang used to do to all the other criminals you caught."

"There's no reason to; you didn't do anything illegal…but, I think I have a better idea for payback."

Shaggy perked up his ears at Daphne's surprising comment.

"You'll get what you want. I'll put you on my show…but I'm including all of this conversation, as well." Daphne pulled out a camera, which she had behind her secretly filming Silas's confession.

"And that will be my subtle way of explaining why I'm never, ever taking fan requests again." She shouted.

"Like, wow Daph. You're kinda hot when you're, like, angry." Shaggy observed.

Daphne couldn't help but giggle at her boyfriend's comment.

* * *

It had been a long night, but they were finally back at Shaggy's house. The wind was now gusting vigorously, so much in fact that they could even hear it with all the windows closed.

"Well, I should probably be getting home now." Daphne vocalized.

"Uh, like, do you have to go? I was thinking maybe you could…stay the night." Shaggy said ominously.

Daphne quirked an eyebrow.

"No, no, not like that!" Shaggy repeated for the third time. "Can we just cuddle each other to sleep?"

Daphne smiled at her adorable boyfriend.

"I would love that."

And with that, Daphne crawled into bed with Shaggy and rested her head on his chest. Shaggy wrapped her arms around his new girlfriend, cuddling her as tight as he could.

"Shaggy?" she asked.

"What?" Shaggy said, now a bit nervous that he might have done something wrong. "Am I holding you too tight?"

"No. Could you just pet my hair until I fall asleep?" Daphne requested.

With a smile, Shaggy did as she requested and continued cuddling her. Both of them enjoyed feeling each other's body heat and closeness for the remainder of the night.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

If any of you readers are romantically involved with someone and haven't tried the scenario above, you need to. I can say from personal experience that it feels glorious lol.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I quite enjoyed writing Shaggy and Daphne's relationship, and I've admittedly wanted to make a fanfic which does the Shaphne pairing justice ever since it sort of developed in chapter 5. I've read several Shaphne fanfics, just to see how one could be done, and admittedly all of the ones I've read have been a bit gross. Just in the sense that they're involving the two getting explicitly intimate and/or have Daphne progress from being a good girl into "bam, now she's showing her boobs!" I wanted to write something that showed an actual, realistic relationship (I mean, some of those mature ones could be realistic, though they're not really in-character) that had Daphne and Shaggy being affectionate with each other in their own cute, dorky way. Hopefully it doesn't seem overbearing or forced.

As a side note to anyone who cares as well, this chapter was also fully written at the haunted cabin between Monday and Tuesday (October 8 and 9). Wasn't my intention to write more than one chapter up there, though I had some extra time and decided to keep writing.

And now it's **reference time** again!

Shaggy's comment "Like, sure Daph! But not until I…get off" is a reference to what is quite possibly my favorite scene from the Netflix original television series _Santa Clarita Diet_. In the scene, Abby, a teenage girl who has never flirted before, tries to flirt with a guy at a hardware store to get what she wants. She doesn't know how to flirt however, so she just makes very odd sexual innuendos, one of them being "Do you want to see a movie tonight after you…get off?" I'd say the perfect way to sum up that scene is Eric's comment: "I wouldn't even know how to explain that if I tried" haha.

The list of movies at the movie theater are all references to other Scooby series. 13 Ghosts and Vincent Van Ghoul are references to _The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo,_ The Return of Boogedy Bones is a reference to the movie of the same name from "The Babysitter from Beyond" ( _A Pup Named Scooby-Doo_ ). Pizza Parrot Meets the Butter Bean Bunnies is a reference to the overdue library book Shaggy had in "The Ghost of Mrs. Shusham ( _A Pup Named Scooby-Doo_ ).

Silas Jonas is a reference to "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf?" from _Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?_ The lake he lives on, Viking Lake, is a reference to the "The Curse of the Viking Lake" from _The Scooby-Doo Show_.


End file.
